LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Class 


The  Teacher  and 
His  Work. 


THE  TEACHER 
AND  HIS  WORK 


Samuel  Findley,  Ph.D. 


HINDS,  NOBLE  &  ELDREDGE 

3J-33-35  West  J5th  Street       New  York  City 


COPYRIGHT,  1899 

BY 
SAMUEL    FINDLEY 


PREFACE. 

THIS  book  is  the  outgrowth  of  almost  a  lifetime 
of  school  work  in  nearly  every  grade  of  schools, 
from  the  district  school  in  the  country  to  the  city 
superin  tendency . 

Much  of  the  matter  contained  has  done  duty,  in 
other  forms,  at  teachers'  institutes  in  Ohio,  Pennsyl- 
vania, West  Virginia,  and  Illinois;  and  a  considerable 
part  has  appeared  in  an  educational  magazine.  The 
whole  has  been  carefully  revised — much  of  it  re- 
written. 

I  have  not  been  ambitious  to  make  a  large  book, 
but  rather  to  condense  within  moderate  limits  as 
much  as  possible  of  helpfulness  and  inspiration  to 
those  who  are  bearing  the  burden  and  heat  of  the 
day.  Nor  have  I  striven  after  novelty  or  display  of 
learning,  but  I  have  striven  to  make  simple  and 
plain  some  of  the  most  vital  things  in  school  educa- 
tion. 

The  life  of  an  earnest  teacher  is  of  necessity 
laborious  and  pains-taking,  but  it  has  its  compensa- 
tions. Though  at  times  painfully  conscious  of  weak- 
ness and  short-coming,  I  find  in  the  retrospect  of 


17631)4 


the  years  much  more  of  satisfaction  than  regret. 
I  rejoice  that  I  have  had,  and  still  have,  some  part 
in  a  work  so  good. 

A  hearty  God-speed  to  every  worker  into  whose 
hands  this  book  may  come. 

SAMUEly 
Akron,  Ohio. 

July,  1899. 


CONTENTS. 

I.     CHARACTER  AND    EQUIPMENT   OF   THE 

TEACHER. 
II.    THE  TEACHER'S  SPIRIT. 

III.  PROFESSIONAL  ETHICS. 

IV.  PREPARATION  AND  ADAPTATION. 
V.     SCHOOL  ORGANIZATION. 

VI.     RECITATION  AND  STUDY. 
VII.     GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  SCHOOL. 
VIII.     THE  MORAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  IN 
EDUCATION. 


Character  and  Equipment 
of  the  Teacher. 


* '  For  myself,  I  am  certain  that  the  good  of  human  life 
cannot  lie  in  the  possession  of  things  which,  for  one  man  to 
possess,  is  for  the  rest  to  lose,  but  rather  in  things  which  all 
can  possess  alike,  and  where  one  man's  wealth  promotes  his 
neighbor's. ' ' — Spinoza. 


I. 

CHARACTER  AND  EQUIPMENT  OF  THE  TEACHER. 

THE  chief  factor  in  public  education  is  the 
teacher.  Like  teacher,  like  school.  No  matter 
how  costly  the  buildings,  the  furniture,  and  the 
apparatus,  and  little  matter  how  excellent  the  text- 
books, and  how  wisely  arranged  the  courses  of 
study,  the  schools  will  be  just  what  the  teachers 
make  them.  Good  teachers  will  make  good  schools, 
and  poor  teachers  poor  schools,  under  almost  any 
circumstances.  Some  one  has  well  said  that  the 
Socratic  method  is  worth  very  little  without  a 
Socrates  in  the  teacher's  chair.  Mr.  Garfield  is 
credited  with  saying  that  Mark  Hopkins  on  one  end 
of  a  log  and  a  student  on  the  other,  would  be  a 
good  university.  And  Mr.  Emerson,  replying  to  his 
daughter's  inquiries  as  to  what  studies  she  should 
take,  said  :  "  I  care  little  what  studies  you  pursue  ; 
I  am  far  more  concerned  to  know  with  whom  you 
study."  These  familiar  utterances  all  point  in  the 
same  direction.  Among  all  the  agencies  for  the 
promotion  of  popular  education,  the  teacher  stands 
pre-eminent. 

It  follows  that  the  most  direct  and  effective 
way  to  improve  public  education  is  to  secure  a 
higher  order  of  teaching  talent.  The  want  of  well 


ii 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

qualified  teachers  is  the  weak  place  in  our  system 
of  public  instruction.  The  majority  of  teachers  are 
doing  business  with  insufficient  capital,  and  they 
are  ever  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy.  The  one 
great  need  of  our  schools  is  better  prepared  and  bet- 
ter paid  teachers.  Less  money  invested  in  brick  and 
mortar  and  more  in  brains  would  be  to  the  credit  of 
our  intelligence  and  greatly  to  the  advantage  of  the 
rising  generation.  Many  of  our  communities  dis- 
play commendable  liberality  in  provision  for  the 
externals  of  education ;  but  much  of  it  is  waste 
because  of  niggardliness  in  that  which  is  more 
essential. 

In  harmony  with  these  views  are  the  following 
words  of  President  Adams,  of  Cornell :  "I  believe 
that  no  person  of  impartial  judgment  can  observe 
our  schools  in  comparison  with  those  of  Europe 
without  admitting  our  great  inferiority,  especially 
in  the  primary  and  lower  grades.  We  spend  large 
sums  in  large  and  well  arranged  buildings,  and  in 
elegant  furniture  and  expensive  text-books,  and 
then  frustrate  the  purpose  of  them  all  by  not  having 
the  one  thing  compared  with  which  all  the  other 
things  are  nothing,  namely,  a  good  school."  The 
one  way  of  having  a  good  school  is  to  have  in  it  a 
good  teacher. 

The  teacher's  incentives  to  excellence  are  great. 
He  has  great  opportunities.  His  work  is  noble, 
requiring  good  talent  and  high  attainment.  Suc- 
cess in  the  pursuit  of  wealth,  so  much  coveted  by 


12 


CHARACTER  AND  EQUIPMENT. 

most  men,  almost  invariably  cramps  and  dwarfs  the 
soul.  The  best  success  in  teaching  can  be  attained 
only  through  the  enlargement  and  ennobling  of  the 
teacher's  whole  being.  And  this  is  one  of  the 
blessed  compensations  of  the  work. 

The  first  and  most  valuable  qualities  of  the 
teacher  pertain  to  his  personality — to  the  inner  sub- 
stance of  his  life  and  character,  to  his  motive,  pur- 
pose, spirit. 

Genuine  character  is  essential.  It  would  be 
vain  to  attempt  to  make  a  good  teacher  without  good 
material  to  start  with.  It  has  been  said  that  of 
a  piece  of  steel  you  can  make  almost  anything  you 
please,  from  a  plowshare  to  a  watch  spring ;  the 
essential  thing  is  that  it  first  be  good  steel.  The 
teacher's  work,  in  the  long  run,  in  the  outcome, 
will  be  measured  by  what  he  is.  The  true  teacher's 
best  teaching  is  an  unconscious  emanation  from  the 
undermost  substance  of  his  character.  No  assumed 
appearance  of  goodness  will  serve.  It  requires  very 
little  time  for  pupils  to  penetrate  and  perforate  any 
mask  their  teacher  may  put  on.  Some  one  has  said 
that  a  squirrel  is  not  surer  to  know  a  sound  nut 
than  are  children  to  recognize  genuine  character  in 
their  teacher  where  it  exists,  and  they  cannot  escape 
its  influence  nor  withhold  their  respect. 

But  what  is  included  in  genuine  character? 
What  are  its  essential  elements  ?  Without  attempt- 
ing anything  like  an  exhaustive  analysis,  I  present 
the  following  trinity  of  character  : 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

i.  Integrity.  In  common  acceptation,  a  man  of 
integrity  is  an  honest  man — a  man  that  pays  his 
debts,  tells  the  truth,  and  holds  his  word  sacred. 
But  a  glance  at  its  etymology  reveals  a  striking 
significance  in  the  term.  It  has  the  same  origin 
and  something  of  the  same  significance  as  the  word 
integer.  If  we  supply  a  letter  which  seems  to  have 
been  omitted  for  the  sake  of  euphony,  we  have 
integerity,  which  implies  entireness,  wholeness, 
completeness.  A  man  of  integrity  is  not  necessarily 
very  large  or  very  great,  but  he  is  intact ;  no  part 
of  him  is  wanting  through  indulgence  in  vice  or 
wrong-doing.  He  has  that  completeness  which 
comes  from  standing  in  proper  relation  to  the 
Divine.  A  soul  estranged  from  God  has  lost  its 
integrity.  It  is  imperfect,  incomplete — in  an  ab- 
normal state.  Like  a  severed  branch,  it  is  fruitless 
and  useless.  ' '  Apart  from  me  ye  can  do  nothing. ' ' 
A  man  of  integrity  is  a  man  of  right  principles.  He 
loves  God  with  all  his  heart  and  his  neighbor  as 
himself,  and  walks  in  the  way  of  righteousness. 

2.  Purity.  I  never  so  much  crave  a  gifted 
tongue  or  pen  as  when  I  touch  this  subject.  O  the 
excellence  of  purity  !  O  the  blessedness  !  The 
pure  in  heart  shall  see  God.  There  shall  in  no  wise 
enter  into  the  beautiful  city  anything  that  is  un- 
clean ;  but  those  having  clean  hands  and  a  pure 
heart  shall  stand  in  the  holy  place.  Even  external 
purity  is  much  to  be  desired.  Teachers  should 
always  be  clean  in  person  and  attire,  and  pure 


CHARACTER  AND  EQUIPMENT. 

in  speech.  The  smutty  joke,  the  impure  jest, 
should  never  defile  the  lips  of  a  teacher.  It  is 
always  a  mark  of  coarseness  and  want  of  refinement. 
Nor  should  the  teacher  ever  defile  himself  by  the 
use  of  strong  drink  or  tobacco.  It  is  hard  to 
reconcile  these  practices  with  our  good  opinion  of 
some  who  indulge  in  them.  It  cannot  be  that  a 
pure  spirit  can  make  its  abode  in  so  vile  a  place  as 
a  body  defiled  with  strong  drink  or  tobacco. 

But  purity  of  mind  and  heart  is  above  all.  A 
man  may  know  himself  by  the  company  he  keeps 
when  he  is  alone.  If,  whenever  he  is  out  of  the 
crowd,  impure  thoughts  and  desires  come  like  a 
herd  of  unclean  beasts  and  hold  high  carnival  in  his 
mind  and  heart,  he  may  well  bemoan  himself,  and 
cry  out,  unclean  !  unclean  ! 

Marcus  Aurelius  spoke  well  when  he  said, 
"  Such  as  are  thy  habitual  thoughts,  such  also  will 
be  the  character  of  thy  mind  ;  for  the  soul  is  dyed 

by  the  thoughts A   man  should  use 

himself  to  think  of  those  things  only  about  which  if  ' 
one  should  suddenly  ask,  What  hast  thou  now  in 
thy  thoughts  ?  With  perfect  openness  thou  mightest 
immediately  answer,  This,  or  that ;  so  that  from 
thy  words  it  should  be  plain  that  everything  in  thee 
is  simple,  pure,  and  benevolent,  and  such  as  be- 
comes a  social  being. " 

A  majority  of  teachers  are  not  sufficiently  im- 
pressed with  the  blighting  effect  of  impurity  on 
young  minds.  It  contaminates  wherever  it  touches. 


TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

Too  much  vigilance  cannot  be  used  to  guard 
against  it.  Nor  can  too  much  vigilance  be  used  by 
parents  and  teachers  to  store  the  minds  of  children 
with  choice  gems  of  pure  thought,  upon  which 
they  may  feed  in  times  of  solitude. 

3.  Strength.  The  third  member  of  this  trinity 
of  character,  like  that  of  the  great  Trinity,  proceeds 
from  the  other  two.  Strength  of  character  always 
attends  integrity  and  purity.  It  includes  moral 
courage,  lofty  purpose,  indomitable  will.  It  has  in 
it  toughness  of  moral  fiber — endurance.  Continu- 
ance in  well-doing  under  adverse  conditions  is  a 
manifestation  of  strength. 

To  face  danger  without  flinching  is  not  always 
evidence  of  true  courage.  It  may  be  the  result  of 
sheer  recklessness  or  of  selfish  pride.  A  man  of 
true  courage  is  not  always  conscious  that  he  is 
courageous.  There  is  not  unfrequently  the  highest 
courage  beneath  a  diffident,  retiring  exterior.  It 
requires  higher  courage  to  stand  in  a  humble  lot  and 
discharge  faithfully  and  patiently,  day  by  day, 
each  little  duty  as  it  comes,  than  to  go  into  battle. 
"  The  man  who,  in  the  midst  of  poverty  and  priva- 
tion, toils  unflinchingly  and  uncomplainingly  for 
the  sustenance  of  his  family,  in  full  conscious- 
ness of  the  fact  that  he  can  never  rise  superior  to 
his  misfortunes,  is  a  man  of  courage.  He  who  has 
the  best  and  most  unimpeachable  right  and  claim  to 
courage,  is  the  man  who,  to  shield  and  protect  others, 
accepts  open  insult  and  submits  unmurmuringly  to 

16 


CHARACTER  AND  EQUIPMENT. 

open  censure,  criticism,  and  indignity.  This  is 
harder  than  leading  an  army,  harder  than  wearing 
a  royal  crown,  harder  than  preaching  truth  and  right 
to  a  generation  of  fools. ' ' 

A  chief  ingredient  of  courage  is  faith,  that  soul- 
sight  that  looks  beneath  the  surface  of  things  and 
sees  the  invisible — that  clings  to  the  arm  of 
strength. 

It  is  a  seeming  paradox  that  we  are  strongest 
when  we  are  weakest.  Not  until  we  realize  our 
weakness  do  we  know  what  true  strength  is.  In 
the  extremity  of  human  weakness,  the  might  of 
Divine  power  becomes  manifest,  and  strength  is 
made  perfect  in  weakness. 

No  class  of  the  world's  workers  have  greater 
need  to  ' '  be  strong  and  of  a  good  courage ' '  than 
teachers.  Their  work  is  always  arduous  ;  but  they 
must  often  work  on  patiently  and  faithfully  in  the 
face  of  opposition  and  in  the  midst  of  misrepresent- 
ation and  undeserved  censure.  Not  unfrequently 
is  a  high  degree  of  courage  required  to  resist  the 
temptation  to  turn  aside  from  the  work,  through 
desire  for  relief  from  the  wearing  anxieties  and 
perplexities  which  attend  it.  Many  a  tired  and  dis- 
couraged teacher  has  need  to  take  to  himself  the 
words  addressed  to  the  valiant  Joshua  :  ' '  Have 
not  I  commanded  thee  ?  Be  strong  and  of  a  good 
courage  ;  be  not  afraid,  neither  be  thou  dismayed  ; 
for  the  lyord  thy  God  is  with  thee  whithersoever 
thou  goest. ' ' 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

An  essential  part  of  the  teacher's  equipment  is 
good  scholarship.  I  use  the  term  rather  with  ref- 
erence to  quality  than  extent.  Whatever  the  ex- 
tent, its  quality  should  be  good.  It  should  be  clear, 
accurate,  and  thorough.  A  scholar  is  a  learner.  A 
good  scholar  is  one  who  has  learned  enough  in  a 
masterly  way  to  beget  in  him  scholarly  tastes  and 
habits.  He  knows  some  things  well,  and  has  the 
ability  and  disposition  to  learn  more.  Some  people 
who  never  reach  the  college  door  are  better  scholars 
than  some  others  who  have  gone  through  college  and 
carried  off  a  diploma.  It  has  been  said  that  some 
college  graduates  are  not  able  to  read  their  own 
diplomas. 

' '  Would  you  advise  me  to  go  to  college  ? ' ' 
' '  Should  I  attend  a  normal  school  ? ' '  ' '  How  can  I 
best  fit  myself  for  teaching  ?"  are  questions  often 
on  the  lips  of  young  people.  The  answer  to  all 
such  questions  is,  lay  a  foundation  of  good  scholar- 
ship. Any  superstructure  you  may  attempt  to  rear 
otherwise  will  surely  come  to  naught.  Above  all, 
do  not  attempt  any  short  cuts  ;  they  are  a  delusion 
and  a  snare.  If  any  school,  by  whatever  high- 
sounding  name  it  may  be  known,  though  it  be 
called  a  national  normal  university,  offers  to  do  for 
you  in  two  years  all  that  the  college  undertakes  to 
do  in  four  or  five,  turn  from  it ;  go  not  in  the  way 
thereof  ;  for  it  is  a  sham  and  a  fraud.  Whosoever 
is  deceived  thereby  is  not  wise. 

If  you  have  fair  talent,  and  the  time  and  money 

18 


CHARACTER  AND  EQUIPMENT. 

are  at  command,  go  to  college  by  all  means. 
But  in  any  event,  determine  to  learn  all  you  can 
as  well  as  you  can.  One  of  the  most  scholarly 
women,  as  well  as  one  of  the  strongest  and  best 
teachers  I  have  ever  known,  told  me  that  her  oppor- 
tunities for  schooling  were  all  summed  up  in  two 
short  winter  terms  at  the  district  school.  And  I 
heard  from  the  lips  of  a  man  who  is  now  chancellor 
of  a  state  university,  that  he  never  had  the  privilege 
of  attending  college.  That  which  most  concerns 
each  one  of  us  is  a  readiness  to  use  well  his  own 
opportunity,  whatever  it  may  be.  None  of  us  will 
be  called  to  give  account  for  talents  not  committed 
to  him,  nor  for  privileges  beyond  his  reach. 

A  foundation  element  of  good  scholarship,  the 
want  of  which  should  exclude  from  the  teacher's 
ranks,  is  good  reading.  Many  claiming  ability  to 
teach  are  sadly  lacking  in  ability  to  read.  I  refer 
not  to  elocutionary  attainment,  but  to  the  ability  to 
glean  thought  from  the  printed  page.  One  who  has 
acquired  the  ability  to  interpret  readily,  or  get 
rapidly  the  meaning  from,  a  plain  piece  of  good, 
standard  English,  has  at  least  a  foundation  of  good 
scholarship  ;  and  if  to  this  be  added  its  counterpart, 
the  ability  to  write  good  English,  the  most  import- 
ant requirements  of  good  scholarship  are  satisfied  ; 
the  rest  may  almost  be  taken  for  granted. 

Another  part  of  the  teacher's  equipment,  a  con- 
comitant of  good  scholarship,  is  disciplined  powers. 
A  teacher  should  have  the  ready  use  of  himself. 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

He  should  be  able  to  command  the  prompt  attend- 
ance of  all  of  his  faculties.  He  should  be  able  to 
think  and  to  think  clearly  and  correctly.  He 
should  be  able  to  see  clearly  all  the  conditions 
of  a  problem,  to  reason  correctly  and  reach  right 
conclusions.  He  should  have  the  power  of  atten- 
tion. It  should  not  require  the  spur  of  novelty  and 
interest  to  hold  his  mind  to  any  subject.  It  is  said 
that  Mr.  Garfield,  when  he  found  his  mind  wander- 
ing because  the  subject  in  hand  proved  dry  or  un- 
interesting, was  accustomed  to  take  himself  severely 
to  task.  All  his  powers  must  be  obedient. 

The  skillful  use  of  the  hand  is  of  great  value  to 
the  teacher  in  the  class-room.  The  ability  to  sketch 
readily  on  the  blackboard  is  almost  another  lan- 
guage. The  time  ought  to  come  speedily  when 
this  will  be  deemed  an  essential  part  of  a  teacher's 
outfit. 

But  not  every  good  scholar  with  disciplined 
powers  can  teach  well.  There  is  need  of  skill  in 
the  direct  work  of  instruction.  Teaching  is  high 
art.  The  teacher  must  be  an  adept  in  the  art  of 
putting  things — and  yet  more,  he  must  have  skill 
in  waking  up  mind.  Virtue  must  go  out  of  him  to 
energize  and  quicken  the  minds  of  his  pupils.  He 
must  not  do  his  pupils'  thinking  for  them,  but  he 
should  have  the  power  of  making  them  think.  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds  paid  a  high  compliment  to  Dr.  John- 
son when  he  said,  "  No  man  had  like  him  the  fac- 
ulty of  teaching  inferior  minds  the  art  of  thinking. ' ' 


20 


CHARACTER  AND  EQUIPMENT. 

This  skill  in  teaching  is  something  to  be  much 
coveted.  Study  and  practice  are  the  great  means 
of  attainment.  Seek  and  ye  shall  find  ;  knock  and 
it  shall  be  opened  unto  you.  There  is  probably  as 
much  to  be  learned  about  true  teaching  in  the  four 
gospels  as  anywhere  else.  They  contain  the  finest 
examples  of  good  teaching  ever  recorded.  The 
Great  Teacher  knew  the  human  mind  and  how  to 
reach  it ;  and  whoever  catches  fully  the  spirit  of 
his  method  has  made  high  attainment. 

A  teacher  should  grow  continually.  A  growing 
teacher  of  moderate  attainments  is  better  than  one 
of  finished  growth  with  large  attainments.  Decay 
usually  sets  in  soon  after  growth  ceases.  The 
stimulation  of  contact  with  a  mind  that  has  ceased 
to  grow  is  very  small.  The  waters  of  a  running 
brook  are  purer  and  sweeter  than  those  of  a  stag- 
nant pool.  He  must  add  fuel  who  would  keep 
bright  fires  burning.  Only  a  learner  can  teach. 

I  have  ever  counted  it  one  of  the  blessed  com- 
pensations of  the  teacher's  calling  that  the  incen- 
tives to  self -culture  are  great  and  constant.  Shame 
and  confusion  to  that  large  class  of  teachers  who, 
once  having  passed  the  examiner*  s  ordeal,  settle 
down  to  the  weary  round  of  lesson-grinding,  with 
no  ambition  or  desire  for  further  attainment.  When 
a  teacher  ceases  to  grow  he  should  cease  to  teach. 

A  schoolmaster  should  first  be  master  of  him- 
self. Such  mastery  is  worth  whatever  striving, 
even  painful  striving,  it  may  cost.  He  is  truly 


21 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

victor  who  gets  the  victory  over  self.  It  means 
much  ;  but  I  refer  more  particularly  here  to  the 
teacher's  control  of  his  temper.  Mettle  is  a  good 
thing  in  horse  or  man  when  held  in  with  bit  and 
bridle.  A  young  business  man  once  said  to  me 
that  he  had  just  learned  a  rule  which  he  thought 
would  be  of  great  use  to  him  as  a  business  man. 
On  being  asked  what  it  was,  he  replied,  "  Always 
let  the  other  fellow  get  mad."  This  is  an  excel- 
lent rule  for  the  teacher  in  dealing  with  parents  as 
well  as  with  pupils.  There  is  much  to  try  the 
patience  of  the  teacher.  Sudden  flashes  of  temper 
and  hasty,  unguarded  words,  often  come  unbidden, 
to  be  repented  of  afterwards  in  dust  and  ashes. 
Blessed  the  teacher  who  is  the  ruler  of  his  own 
spirit ;  he  is  greater  than  he  that  taketh  a  city. 

One  of  the  greatest  misfortunes  that  can  befall 
a  teacher  is  to  be  under  the  domination  of  an  irri- 
table temper,  and  the  misfortune  to  his  pupils  is 
scarcely  less.  Dr.  Channing  has  well  said  that  a 
boy  or  girl  compelled  for  six  hours  a  day  to  see  the 
countenance  and  hear  the  voice  of  a  fretful,  unkind, 
hard,  or  passionate  teacher,  is  in  a  school  of  vice. 
There  are  few  callings  more  trying  to  the  patience 
than  teaching,  and  few  in  which  the  maintenance 
of  a  cheerful  and  happy  temper  is  more  essential. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  teacher  who  can- 
not control  his  temper  should  quit  the  school  room. 

It  would  be  easy  to  extend  this  inventory  of  the 
teacher's  equipment  almost  indefinitely.  Good 


22 


CHARACTER  AND  EQUIPMENT. 

eyes  and  ears,  good  voice,  self-reliance,  sympathy, 
enthusiasm,  and  many  other  qualities  might  be 
added  ;  but  my  aim  is  to  be  suggestive  rather  than 
exhaustive.  I  make  special  mention  of  only  one 
other  item,  which  should  not  be  wanting  in  the  out- 
fit of  any  teacher ;  namely,  common  sense.  It  is 
not  easy  to  define,  but  the  lack  of  it  in  any  one  is 
soon  manifest.  In  a  meeting  of  teachers  at  Cleve- 
land, a  number  of  years  ago,  a  paper  was  read  in 
which  there  was  some  enumeration  of  the  qualifi- 
cations of  a  good  teacher,  the  concluding  remark 
being,  that  to  all  there  should  be  added  a  consider- 
able sprinkling  of  common  sense.  The  superin- 
tendent of  the  schools  of  Washington  City,  who 
was  present,  took  exception  to  this.  He  said  he 
usually  advocated  sprinkling,  but  he  thought  the 
teacher  should  always  be  immersed  in  common 
sense. 

Whatever  the  form,  or  method  of  application, 
the  thing  itself  is  excellent.  Common  sense  leads 
to  a  recognition  of  the  fitness  of  things — enables  its 
possessor  to  see  aright  and  act  aright.  The  teacher 
who  has  it  will  not  attempt  the  impossible  in  disci- 
pline or  in  teaching.  He  will  not  wear  his  life  out 
trying  to  make  of  boys  and  girls  what  the  stuff  was 
never  intended  to  make.  He  will  not  keep  himself 
and  his  pupils  always  on  the  rack  concerning  petty 
details  of  conduct.  He  will  not  treat  the  acci- 
dental dropping  of  a  slate-pencil  with  as  much 
severity  as  the  telling  of  a  deliberate  falsehood. 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

Common  sense  is  reasonable  in  all  things,  duly  re- 
gards the  rights  and  feelings  of  the  humblest  child, 
and  always  does  the  nicest  things  in  the  nicest  way. 
Now,  dear  reader,  meditate  on  these  things  ;  give 
thyself  wholly  to  them  ;  that  thy  profiting  may  ap- 
pear in  all  things.  Covet  earnestly  the  best  gifts. 


The  Teacher's  Spirit. 


"  Had  we  tests  fine  enough  we  would  doubtless  find  each 
man's  personality  the  center  of  outreaching  influence.  He 
himself  may  be  utterly  unconscious  of  this  exhalation  of 
moral  forces,  as  he  is  of  the  contagion  of  disease  from  his 
body.  But  if  light  is  in  him  he  shines;  if  darkness  rules  he 
shades;  if  his  heart  glows  with  love  he  warms;  if  frozen  with 
selfishness  he  chills;  if  corrupt  he  poisons;  if  pure-hearted 
he  cleanses 

"The  soul,  like  the  sun,  has  its  atmosphere,  and  is  over 
against  its  fellows,  for  light,  warmth,  and  transformation." 
—Hillis. 


II. 
THE  TEACHER'S  SPIRIT. 

IN  my  experience  as  a  school  supervisor,  I  have  not 
always  found  it  easy  to  discover  the  secret  of 
the  success  or  failure  of  teachers.  Some  of  those 
from  whom  I  have  expetced  little  have  proven  very 
capable  and  successful.  There  comes  to  mind  the 
case  of  one  who  was  rejected  on  her  examination, 
but  was  afterwards  employed  in  an  emergency. 
Her  success  was  very  marked.  She  not  only  gov- 
erned and  taught  well,  but  she  attached  her  pupils 
to  her  strongly,  and  her  influence  over  them  was 
healthful  and  inspiring.  Many  teachers  could  be 
named,  highly  esteemed  and  successful,  now  holding 
principalships  and  other  important  positions,  who 
were  at  first  licensed  reluctantly  and  employed  with 
a  good  many  misgivings. 

On  the  other  hand,  some  possessed  of  good  char- 
acter, good  scholarship,  and,  to  all  appearances,  a 
fair  measure  of  all  the  other  requirements,  and  con- 
cerning whom  there  were  high  expectations,  have 
failed  utterly,  or  have  ranked  only  as  mediocres. 
A  striking  example  is  the  case  of  one  of  the  best 
.scholars  I  have  known — one  who  seemed  to  know 
almost  everything  and  betrayed  no  lack  in  other 
directions.  She  was  certificated  and  employed  with- 


27 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

out  the  least  hesitation,  but  proved  her  incompetency 
before  the  close  of  the  first  day.  Her  pupils,  with 
keen  insight,  quickly  saw  in  her  something  which 
the  school  officials  had  failed  to  discover.  With  her 
advent  there  seemed  to  come  into  the  school  troops 
of  the  imps  of  mischief,  and  before  the  first  day  was 
over  the  school  was  hopelessly  demoralized. 

Another  example  comes  to  mind — that  of  one 
who  had  shown  good  ability  and  great  industry  as  a 
student,  besides  great  energy  and  force  of  character 
in  pushing  her  way  through  high  school  and  college, 
without  means  and  without  home  aid  or  even  home 
sympathy.  The  interest  with  which  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances watched  her  career  as  a  student  amounted 
almost  to  enthusiasm.  With  high  school  and  college 
diploma  fairly  won,  she  had  no  difficulty  in  securing 
employment  as  a  teacher.  Places  awaited  her.  Dis- 
appointment, too,  awaited  her  and  her  friends.  In 
point  of  real  teaching  power,  she  scarcely  ranked 
as  a  mediocre.  Inspiration  seemed  to  be  wanting. 
She  repelled  rather  than  attracted  her  pupils. 

These  and  other  similar  cases  have  made  a  deep 
impression  on  my  mind.  They  have  made  me  think 
that  the  signs  of  a  good  teacher  do  not  always  appear 
on  the  surface.  The  teacher's  inner  life  and  spirit 
determine  his  real  worth.  Persons  of  shallow  na- 
ture, without  depth  and  richness  of  soul,  can  never 
enter  into  the  higher  realm  of  instruction  and  influ- 
ence. Being  themselves  superficial,  they  cannot  see 
beneath  the  surface  of  things.  They  are  not  born 

28 


THE  TEACHER'S  SPIRIT. 

again ;  they  have  no  newness  of  life.  Their  eyes 
have  not  been  opened ;  they  have  no  inner  vision. 
They  do  not  understand  their  own  life,  or  the  life 
about  them,  and  are  never  able  to  put  themselves  in 
right  relations  to  their  work  or  their  surroundings. 

It  was  said  of  an  eminent  character  of  old  that  he 
was  preferred  above  presidents  and  princes  because 
an  excellent  spirit  was  in  him.  It  is  always  the  ex- 
cellent spirit  in  a  man  that  gives  him  desirable  and 
lasting  pre-eminence.  What  but  the  excellent  spirit 
in  our  own  Lincoln  and  Garfield  placed  them  so  high 
in  the  esteem  and  affection  of  a  great  people,  and 
gave  them  a  fame  that  will  last  as  long  as  history  is 
read  ?  It  is  the  excellent  spirit  in  the  teacher  that 
gives  him  his  greatest  power,  that  fits  him  for  the 
best  work  of  a  teacher. 

It  is  in  dealing  with  such  a  subject  as  this  that  one 
feels  most  keenly  the  poverty  of  human  speech. 
Bacon  has  said  that  the  finest  part  of  beauty  is  that 
which  a  picture  cannot  express.  So  it  may  be  said 
that  the  finest  and  best  in  the  spirit  of  a  true  teacher 
cannot  be  expressed  in  words.  Perhaps  no  one  has 
better  expressed  the  inadequacy  of  language  to  em- 
body deepest  thought  and  finest  feeling  than  Bishop 
Huntington,  in  his  inimitable  classic, "  Unconscious 
Tuition."  "All  true  wisdom,  "  he  says/'  involves 
a  certain  something  that  is  inexpressible.  After  all 
you  have  said  about  it,  you  feel  that  there  is  some- 
thing more  which  you  never  can  say,  and  there  is  a 
frequent  sensation  of  pain  at  the  inadequacy  of 

29 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

language  to  shape  and  convey — perhaps,  also,  the 
inadequacy  of  the  conceptions  to  define — the  secret 
and  nameless  thought,  which  is  the  delicious  charm 
and  crown  of  the  subject,  as  it  hangs  in  robes  of 
glory  before  your  mind.  Any  cultivated  person, 
who  has  never  been  oppressed  by  this  experience, 
must  be  subject,  I  should  say,  to  dogmatism,  prag- 
matism, conceit,  or  some  other  comfortable  chronic 
infirmity.  Where  the  nature  is  rich  and  the  emo- 
tions are  generous,  there  will  always  be  a  reverential 
perception  that  ideas  only  partly  condescend  to  be 
embodied  in  words.  So  it  is  always  found  that  the 
truest  effects  of  eloquence  are  where  the  expression 
suggests  a  region  of  thought,  a  dim  vista  of  imag- 
ery, an  oceanic  depth  of  feeling,  beyond  what  is 
actually  contained  in  the  sentences.  You  have  to 
judge  an  orator  as  much  by  what  he  leaves  out  as 
by  what  he  puts  in.  He  uses  words  with  the  true 
mastery  of  genius  who  not  only  knows  how  to  say 
exactly  and  lucidly,  and  with  the  fewest  sounds,  the 
thing  he  thinks,  but  how  to  make  what  he  does  say 
indicate  that  diviner  part  of  wisdom  which  must  re- 
main forever  unsaid.  The  cleanest  rhetorical  direct- 
ness is  united  with  the  strongest  sense  of  mystery. 
You  hear  thoughts  perfectly  within  the  range  of  the 
understanding  sublimely  uttered,  and  you  are  made 
aware  of  the  nearness  of  a  world  whose  thoughts 
are  more  sublimely  unuttered." 

Without  attempting  an  exhaustive   analysis,  I 
present  a  few  of  the  more  obvious  elements  of  the 


TEACHER'S  SPIRIT. 

excellent  spirit  which  the  teacher  should  seek  with 
whole  heart  and  soul  and  mind. 

At  the  head  stands  child-likeness.  To  be  child- 
like is  not  to  be  childish.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
child-like  spirit  inconsistent  with  the  sturdiest  man- 
liness or  the  most  mature  womanliness.  When  the 
disciples  of  Jesus  strove  among  themselves  for  pre- 
eminence in  the  new  kingdom,  He  took  a  little  child, 
and  having  set  him  in  the  midst  He  said:  "Whoso- 
ever shall  humble  himself  as  this  little  child,  the  same 
is  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. ' '  These  words 
must  always  impress  us  with  the  excellence  of  child- 
likeness.  It  is  the  passport  to  the  better  life.  One 
cannot  contemplate  without  desiring  not  only  to 
understand  it  but  to  possess  it.  But  it  is  a  very  high 
attainment — the  highest  and  best  the  soul  reaches  in 
this  life.  No  greater  task  can  a  strong  man  set  for 
himself  than  to  become  child-like  in  the  fullest  sense. 
When  he  has  accomplished  it  he  is  ready  to  enter 
another  sphere. 

But  what  is  it  to  be  child-like  ?  One  writer  an- 
swers well  in  these  words:  "  To  be  child-like  is  to  be 
harmless  and  void  of  offense  ;  to  be  so  pure  as  not  to 
understand  the  suggestions  of  impurity  ;  to  be  un- 
selfish and  unworldly ;  to  *  take  no  anxious  thought 
for  the  morrow' ,  fully  believing  and  trusting  that 
'our  Father  knoweth  that  we  have  need  of  these 
things';  and  to  be  willing  to  follow  wherever  he 
leads  the  way. ' '  Only  a  true,  pure,  loving  soul  can 
be  child-like. 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

The  chief  elements  of  child-likeness  are  three  : 
i.  Humility.  To  be  truly  humble  is  not  to 
think  meanly  of  one's  self,  or  to  underestimate  one's 
own  abilities.  Humility  is  a  noble  grace.  "  Before 
honor  is  humility, '  'and  '  'with  the  lowly  is  wisdom. ' ' 
It  is  the  opposite  of  the  proud  and  haughty  spirit 
that  * '  goeth  before  a  fall. ' '  Pride  is  always  un- 
seemly. Few  things  are  more  disgusting  to  right 
minded  people  than  to  see  any  human  being  strut 
before  his  fellows.  Whenever  anyone  shows  that 
he  is  satisfied  with  himself  everybody  else  becomes 
dissatisfied  with  him  ;  whenever  a  person  thinks 
much  of  himself,  he  is  lightly  esteemed  by  other 
people.  Humility  is  the  appropriate  attitude  of 
mortals.  It  is  the  root  of  all  the  graces,  the  spring 
of  all  that  is  lovely  in  human  character.  Words- 
worth tells  us  out  of  his  own  experience  that  wisdom 
is  nearer  to  us  when  we  stoop  than  when  we  soar.  Par- 
adoxical as  it  may  seem,  humility  is  true  exaltation. 
Some  special  reasons  may  be  given  why  we  as 
teachers  should  be  humble.  Because,  in  the  first 
place,  we  know  so  little.  I  refer  not  alone  to  the 
small  attainments  of  the  novice  and  the  ignorance 
of  the  incompetent  and  unfaithful.  The  attain- 
ments of  the  wisest  are  small  compared  with  the 
whole  realm  of  knowledge,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
domain  of  mystery.  This  life  is  too  short  to  know 
fairly  well  more  than  a  few  subjects,  and  no  man 
knows  any  subject  to  its  utmost  limits.  The  man 
who  is  proud  of  his  knowledge  gives  evidence  that 


THB  TEACHER'S  SPIRIT. 

his  circle  of  vision  is  small.  We  readily  sympathize 
with  the  feeling  of  the  scholarly  Newton,  when,  near 
the  close  of  his  life,  referring  to  his  own  attainments, 
he  said/'  I  feel  like  a  little  child  that  has  picked  up 
a  few  pebbles  along  the  shore,  while  the  great  ocean 
of  knowledge  lies  out  beyond. ' ' 

But  again,  we  have  reason  to  be  humble  because 
we  see  so  dimly  and  are  so  often  mistaken.  We  often 
think  we  know,  and  afterwards  find  we  were  mis- 
taken. What  we  hold  as  truth  to-day  is  often  dif- 
ferent from  what  we  held  yesterday.  Even  great 
ecclesiastical  bodies,  supposed  to  be  almost  infallible, 
find  it  necessary  to  revise  their  creeds.  It  would  be 
good  for  anyone  imbued  with  the  correctness  of  his 
own  opinions,  or  with  the  certainty  of  human  knowl- 
edge in  general,  to  read  attentively  the  works  of  any 
half  dozen  modern  writers  on  psychology  or  geology. 

Yet  again,  we  have  reason  to  be  humble  because 
of  our  inefficiency.  What  the  average  teacher  ac- 
complishes for  and  with  his  pupils  is  insignificant  in 
comparison  with  what  is  possible.  The  possibilities 
of  young  minds  in  the  direction  of  development  and 
culture  are  very  great,  under  proper  stimulation  and 
skillful  guidance.  But  the  average  results  attained 
in  schools  are  meager.  It  is  fair  to  say  that  what  is 
done  in  schools  throughout  the  land,  both  in  the 
production  of  scholarship  and  in  the  formation  of 
character,  is  less  than  half  of  what  might  be  accom- 
plished, with  the  whole  body  of  teachers  fully  quali- 
fied and  thoroughly  in  earnest. 


33 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

"Why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud?" 
Humility  is  the  only  fitting  attitude  of  beings  so 
short-sighted,  so  imperfect,  so  dependent.  "  Be 
clothed  with  humility  ;  for  God  resisteth  the  proud, 
and  giveth  grace  to  the  humble." 

2.  Teachableness.  The  unperverted  little  child 
is  not  only  willing  to  be  taught,  it  is  anxious 
to  learn.  It  is  an  embodied  interrogation.  What 
is  it  ?  What  for  ?  Why  ?  are  some  of  the  familiar 
forms  in  which  the  teachable  attitude  of  the 
little  child  is  manifest.  Teachableness  implies 
obedience ;  it  also  implies  an  acknowledgment  of 
ignorance.  The  futile  efforts  of  grown  people  to 
conceal  their  ignorance  is  sometimes  ludicrous. 
Like  the  silly  ostrich  which  thinks  itself  concealed 
from  its  pursuers  when  only  its  head  is  buried  in 
the  sand,  many  foolish  people  imagine  themselves 
secure  behind  a  mask  which  all  the  world  sees 
through.  The  multitude  is  slow  to  learn  that  there 
can  be  no  successful  seeming  without  being.  If 
people  generally  made  as  much  effort  to  learn  as 
they  make  to  conceal  their  ignorance,  the  sum  of 
intelligence  in  the  world  would  be  considerably 
increased.  What  a  gulf  there  is  between  a  soul 
that  is  affected,  self -conceited  and  full  of  pretense, 
and  one  that  is  simple,  unassuming,  and  docile. 
Before  the  one  is  a  self-constructed  and  almost  im- 
passable barrier;  before  the  other  is  an  open  and 
inviting  highway. 

Young  teachers  are  often  unduly  impressed  with 


34 


THE  TEACHER'S  SPIRIT. 

a  false  sense  of  the  dignity  of  their  position.  It 
has  been  gravely  maintained  that  a  teacher  cannot 
afford  to  say,  in  the  hearing  of  his  pupils,  I  do 
not  know — as  if  it  were  possible  for  him  to  know 
everything.  The  best  attitude  of  a  teacher  in  this 
regard  is  that  of  a  learner  a  little  in  advance  of  his 
pupils.  Of  course,  teachers  ought  to  know  a  good 
deal,  and  they  ought  to  be  very  familiar  with  what 
they  undertake  to  teach.  But  to  pretend  or  assume 
attainments  not  possessed  is  never  justifiable,  and 
he  that  does  it  is  sure  to  come  to  grief  sooner  or 
later.  It  may  be  noted  in  passing  that  the  broader 
and  more  thorough  one's  knowledge,  the  easier  it  is 
to  say,  I  do  not  know. 

The  teachable  spirit  will  lead  a  teacher  to  see, 
acknowledge,  and  profit  by  his  mistakes.  Never 
stick  to  a  wrong  because  you  have  spoken  it ;  never 
do  a  wrong  because  your  word  is  out.  If  you  have 
unwisely  promised  or  threatened  punishment  which 
you  afterwards  conclude  to  be  undeserved  or  im- 
proper, be  frank  to  confess  your  mistake  to  all  con- 
cerned, even  though  it  include  the  whole  school, 
and  refrain  from  inflicting  the  punishment.  Such 
a  course  will  not  weaken  your  authority,  but  will 
give  you  a  stronger  hold  upon  the  school. 

The  teachable  spirit  will  make  a  teacher  ready 
to  receive  counsel  from  the  parents  of  his  pupils  as 
well  as  from  those  above  him  in  authority.  A 
teacher  ought  to  be  reasonably  jealous  of  any  inter- 
meddling or  interference  with  his  own  prerogative. 


35 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

He  must  control  and  teach  his  school,  and  in  many 
things  he  must  be  a  law  unto  himself.  He  should 
moderately  but  firmly  resist  all  such  interference  on 
the  part  of  superintendent,  board,  or  parents, 
as  tends  to  weaken  his  authority  and  influence,  or 
to  hinder  in  any  way  the  fullest  exercise  of  his  ap- 
propriate function  as  a  teacher.  Yet  he  should 
keep  an  open  mind  to  the  suggestions  of  all  who  are 
concerned  in  his  pupils'  well-being.  Even  when 
suggestions  are  prompted  by  over-officiousness,  he 
should  weigh  them  well,  and  adopt,  as  far  as  practi- 
cable, all  that  is  good  in  them.  No  self-conceit  or 
self-will  should  prevent  the  teacher  from  profiting 
by  suggestions  of  good,  from  whatever  source  they 
may  come. 

3.  Trustfulness.  The  affectionate,  trustful 
spirit  with  which  the  little  child  clings  to  its  natural 
protectors  is  the  symbol  and  ideal  of  true  faith  in 
the  human  soul.  Credulity  and  superstition  are 
but  the  semblance  and  counterfeit  of  true  faith. 
Genuine  faith  is  the  soul's  inner  sense  whereby  it 
sees  the  invisible.  The  soul  without  faith  is  blind 
to  all  beyond  the  realm  of  external  sense.  Some 
one  has  said  that  faith  is  certitude  without  proof. 
Faith  has  proofs  of  its  own  which  are  incommuni- 
cable— proofs  addressed  more  to  the  heart  and  con- 
science than  to  the  rational  faculty.  For  one  with- 
out faith  to  deny  the  existence  of  the  objects  of 
faith,  is  like  a  blind  man  denying  the  existence  of 
light  and  color. 

36 


THE  TEACHER'S  SPIRIT. 

Faith  is  the  hand  of  the  soul  which  holds  on 
when  sense  and  reason  are  unable  to  point  the  way. 

Faith  is  something  nobler  and  better  than  mere 
belief  in  human  creed  and  dogma.  It  is  the  vital 
principle  of  the  soul  which  links  it  to  the  divine, 
and  gives  strength  in  weakness  and  peace  in  adver- 
sity. It  makes  the  soul  hopeful  and  buoyant,  and 
gives  courage  to  undertake  and  persevere.  Men  of 
high  purpose  and  action  have  ever  been  men  of 
great  faith.  There  can  be  no  high  ideal  of  life 
without  it. 

Faith  in  the  teacher  gives  him  high  ideals  and 
expectations  for  his  pupils,  and  enables  him  to  in- 
spire them  with  like  high  ideals.  No  heartless 
skeptic  should  be  permitted  to  instil  the  insid- 
ious and  blighting  poison  of  his  own  unbelief  into 
the  minds  and  hearts  of  youth. 

There  are  doubtless  other  elements  of  the  child- 
like spirit,  but  these  three  are  chief.  L,et  them  suffice. 

Next  after  child-likeness  may  be  named  a 
spirit  of  earnestness.  The  world  owes  far  more 
to  earnest  men  and  women  than  it  does  to  genius. 
It  is  not  by  strokes  of  genius  but  by  earnest  plodding 
that  the  world's  work  is  done.  Few  are  highly 
gifted ;  great  talent  is  scarce ;  but  all  may  be  in 
earnest.  One  man  thoroughly  in  earnest  is  worth  a 
regiment  of  dawdlers.  If  the  present  membership 
of  all  branches  of  the  Christian  church  were  to  be- 
come at  once  thoroughly  in  earnest,  the  world 
would  be  christianized  within  a  decade. 


37 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

Real  earnestness  in  the  teacher  does  not  mani- 
fest itself  in  fussiness  or  noise.  Shallow  water 
ripples  and  bubbles ;  the  deep  stream  runs  still. 
Earnest  souls  are  deep  and  calm,  but  they  move  on 
with  irrisistible  force.  Something  of  earnestness  is 
due  to  the  blood  in  the  arteries,  to  the  secretions  of 
the  liver  and  stomach,  and  to  natural  temperament, 
but  more  to  heart  and  conscience.  It  is  not  want- 
ing where  there  are  a  high  sense  of  duty  and  clear 
and  right  views  of  life. 

Another  word  of  kindred  meaning  is  enthusiasm. 
This  word  of  noble  origin  is  sometimes  put  to  base 
uses.  It  is  not  unfrequently  used  synonymously 
with  fanaticism,  whereas  in  its  original  signification 
it  means  God  within.  An  enthusiast  is  inspired  or 
God-filled.  A  truly  earnest  soul  is  an  enthusiast  in 
the  good  sense.  There  is  always  about  him  a  glow 
of  warmth,  a  fervor,  that  keeps  all  his  powers  in 
working  condition  and  makes  it  good  and  pleasant 
to  be  near  him.  How  different  the  atmosphere  of  a 
school  room  which  has  in  it  a  teacher  with  glowing 
fervency  of  spirit  from  that  of  one  having  in  it  a 
shallow,  languid,  indifferent  teacher — the  one  a 
continual  benediction  and  inspiration,  the  other  a 
weariness  and  pain  to  behold. 

The  earnest  teacher  takes  interest  in  his  pupils 
and  puts  heart  into  his  work.  Teachers  are  some- 
times advised  to  lock  their  school  cares  in  the  school 
room  at  the  close  of  each  day.  If  by  this  is  meant 
the  leaving  behind  of  wearing  and  fruitless  worry 

38 


THE  TEACHER'S  SPIRIT. 

about  trifles,  or  about  things  which  thoughtfulness 
cannot  remedy,  the  advice  is  good.  The  more  of 
this  the  better.  Blessed  the  teacher  who  can  do  it. 
But  I  cannot  always  avoid  the  suspicion  that  it  is 
taken  to  mean  the  giving  as  little  thought  as  pos- 
sible to  the  school  and  its  well-being.  School  du- 
ties and  responsibilities  do  sit  lightly  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  some  teachers ;  but  an  earnest  teacher  will 
give  much  earnest  thought  to  his  school  out  of 
school  hours.  He  will  carry  his  school  on  his  heart 
somewhat  as  a  good  mother  her  children.  Presi- 
dent Garfield  has  told,  concerning  his  experience  as 
a  teacher,  that  he  was  wont,  on  waking  in  the 
morning,  to  lie  in  his  bed  and  draw  in  imagination 
the  plan  of  his  school  room  on  his  pillow,  so  as  to 
get  each  pupil  as  vividly  as  possible  before  his 
mind.  Then  he  would  study  each  in  turn,  his  ten- 
dencies and  peculiarities,  that  he  might  determine 
what  he  should  do  for  each  that  had  not  yet  been 
done.  In  my  own  first  years  of  teaching  I  often 
taught  all  night  long ;  and  in  later  years  I  have 
spent  sleepless  nights  over  troublesome  school  prob- 
lems ;  and  I  do  not  think  my  success  has  been  less 
for  so  doing. 

Another  excellent  trait,  which  might  properly 
have  been  included  in  the  child-like  spirit,  is  in- 
genuousness. It  is  the  opposite  of  craftiness  or  sly 
cunning.  An  ingenuous  person  is  open,  frank, 
candid,  and  free  from  equivocation.  He  is  ' '  actu- 
ated by  a  native  simplicity  and  artlesness,  which 


39 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

make  him  willing  to  confess  his  faults,  and  make 
known  his  sentiments  without  reserve. ' '  Ingenuous- 
ness is  not  inconsistent  with  a  reasonable  prudence, 
or  a  proper  sense  of  propriety  as  to  when  to  speak 
and  when  to  keep  silence.  "A  fool  uttereth  all  his 
mind  ;  but  a  wise  man  keepeth  it  in  till  afterwards. ' ' 
Craftiness  and  disguise  usually  accompany  a 
sense  of  ill-desert  or  ill-design,  but  find  no  place  in 
a  truly  noble  soul. 

The  Scotch  poet  utters  only  worldly  wisdom 
when  he  advises, 

"  Conceal  yoursel  as  weel's  ye  can 

Frae  critical  dissection ; 
But  keek  through  ilka  ither  man 
Wi'  sharpened  sly  inspection." 

More  like  other- world  wisdom  are  these  words 
from  Emerson  :  '  *  Speak  what  you  think  now  in 
hard  words,  and  to-morrow  speak  what  to-morrow 
thinks  in  hard  words  again,  though  it  contradict 
everything  you  said  to-day. " 

And  these  from  Bacon  :  ' '  Simulation  and  dis- 
simulation commonly  carry  with  them  a  show  of 
fearfulness,  which  in  any  business  doth  spoil  the 
feathers  of  round  flying  up  to  the  mark.  Round 
dealing  is  the  honor  of  man's  nature.  The  ablest 
men  that  ever  were  had  all  an  openness  and  frank- 
ness of  dealing,  and  a  name  of  certainty  and 
veracity." 

The  ingenuous  teacher  readily  gains  the  confi- 
dence of  his  pupils,  and  they  unconsciously  grow 
into  his  likeness. 


40 


THE  TEACHER'S  SPIRIT. 

Still  another  element  of  the  excellent  spirit  is 
magnanimity.  A  magnanimous  person  is  literally 
great  of  mind — magnus,  great,  animus,  mind.  He 
takes  a  broad,  generous  view  of  all  things,  and  is 
disposed  to  look  on  the  good  in  life  and  conduct. 
Magnanimity  is  often  in  common  phrase  called  large- 
hear  tedness.  It  is  that  dignity  or  elevation  of  soul 
' '  which  enables  one  to  encounter  danger  or  trouble 
with  tranquility  and  firmness,  to  disdain  injustice, 
meanness  and  revenge,  and  to  act  and  sacrifice  for 
noble  objects." 

The  magnanimous  spirit  in  the  teacher  lifts  him 
above  the  petty  annoyances  of  the  school  room,  and 
keeps  him  from  magnifying  the  weaknesses  and 
faults  of  his  pupils.  How  often  is  the  whole  work 
and  influence  of  the  teacher  marred  and  hindered  by 
a  narrow  self-seeking !  A  teacher  should  never  allow 
himself  to  become  a  party  in  any  case  involving  the 
conduct  of  a  pupil.  No  misdemeanor  of  a  pupil 
should  be  treated  as  a  personal  offense,  or  an  insult 
to  the  teacher,  but  rather  as  an  offense  against  good 
order  and  propriety.  The  teacher  should  never  be 
either  plaintiff  or  defendant,  with  a  pupil  as  the 
party  of  the  other  part.  His  correct  attitude  is  that 
of  counsellor  and  friend — sometimes  that  of  judge 
and  executor. 

Many  of  the  minor  faults  of  pupils  should  be 
seen  by  the  teacher  as  though  he  saw  them 
not.  A  story  is  told  of  a,  Scotch  tutor,  who 
had  the  right  view  of  this  matter.  A  friend, 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

walking  with  him  one  day  through  the  campus, 
observed  a  student  at  a  little  distance  limp- 
ing in  imitation  of  the  lame  tutor,  and  expected 
to  see  the  offender  sharply  reprimanded.  Surprised 
that  the  tutor  gave  the  matter  no  attention,  the  friend 
asked, '  'Why  do  you  not  stop  that  impudent  fellow?' ' 
"An5  ye  na'  look  at  him,  ye '11  na'  see  him,"  replied 
the  tutor.  The  magnanimous  teacher  will  sometimes 
refrain  from  looking  that  he  may  not  see. 

The  large-minded,  large-hearted  teacher  will  har- 
bor no  grudge  against  either  pupils  or  their  parents. 
This  is  a  matter  of  much  importance,  and  one  to  which 
teachers  should  give  earnest  heed.  A  very  success- 
ful and  much  loved  clergyman  of  my  acquaintance, 
makes  it  a  rule  of  his  life  never  to  entertain  animos- 
ity or  ill-will  toward  a  fellow  man.  It  is  a  good 
rule — one  that  will  add  greatly  to  the  happiness  and 
usefulness  of  all  who  observe  it.  How  much  of  this 
world's  good  is  destroyed,  and  how  much  of  individ- 
ual comfort  is  taken  out  of  life,  by  the  malevolent 
feelings  and  enmities  indulged  among  men  !  The 
teacher's  highest  success,  as  well  as  his  own  comfort, 
requires  the  "laying  aside  all  malice,  and  all  guile, 
and  hypocrisies,  and  envies,  and  all  evil  speaking." 

But  the  last  and  greatest  and  best  is  love.  This 
it  is  that  Prof.  Drummond  calls  "The  Greatest  Thing 
in  the  World. "  It  is  the  most  enduring  thing  in  the 
world.  Prophecies  shall  fail,  tongues  shall  cease, 
knowledge  shall  vanish,  and  even  faith  shall  be  lost 
in  sight  and  hope  in  fruition  ;  but  love  is  eternal  and 


THK  TKACHKR'S  SPIRIT. 

never  fails.  It  is  the  most  powerful  thing  in  the 
world.  It  delivers  souls  from  sin  and  death,  and 
nothing  else  has  ever  done  or  can  do  that.  ' '  Thou 
hast  loved  my  soul  out  of  the  pit ' '  is  the  language 
of  an  ancient  teacher. 

Love  in  the  teacher's  heart  is  the  mightiest  force 
in  the  school  room.  Every  teacher  ought  to  have 
a  great  big  heart  full  of  it,  and  should  be  most  ready 
to  pour  it  out  on  those  who  need  it  most.  The  real 
test  of  love  in  a  teacher's  heart  is  its  readiness  to 
flow  for  the  unlovely — the  wayward  and  neglected. 
What  a  benediction,  what  a  blessing,  is  a  loving 
teacher  to  the  heart-hungry  waifs  found  in  nearly 
every  school  ! 

One  blessed  thing  about  love  is  that  the  more  of 
it  one  gives  the  more  he  has.  ' '  To  love  abundantly 
is  to  live  abundantly,  and  to  love  forever  is  to  live 
forever."  Truly  love  is  the  greatest  thing  in  the 
world  ! 

L,ove,  like  nearly  all  good  things,  has  its  counter- 
feits. A  weak  and  sickly  sentimentalism  is  not  un- 
frequently  put  forward  in  its  place.  Many  teachers 
use  more  of  sentiment  than  sense  in  dealing  with 
their  pupils,  shown  by  petting  and  fondling  them, 
and  by  laxness  in  discipline  and  slackness  in  re- 
quiring the  performance  of  school  duties.  I^ove 
does  not  always  caress  ;  it  sometimes  smites.  Truest 
love  leads  to  greatest  faithfulness,  and  this  all  teach- 
ers should  ponder  well.  Those  parents  and  teachers 
who,  in  good  spirit  and  with  painstaking,  correct 


43 


THK  TKACHKR  AND  HIS  WORK. 

the  faults  of  children  and  hold  them  rigorously  to  a 
high  standard  of  excellence  in-  all  things,  show 
greater  love  by  far  than  those  who  languidly  and 
weakly  indulge  them  to  their  hurt. 

If  any  discouraged  teacher  asks  how  he  may  at- 
tain the  excellent  spirit  thus  imperfectly  set  forth, 
I  answer,  Not  in  your  own  strength  and  not  in  a 
day.  No  one  does  or  can  purify  his  own  life. 
"Apart  from  me  ye  can  do  nothing."  "As  the 
branch  cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself  except  it  abide  in 
the  vine,  no  more  can  ye  except  ye  abide  in  me. ' ' 
The  essential  thing  at  the  outset  and  always  is  a 
right  attitude  for  receiving  proffered  help.  A  man 
can  no  more  elevate  and  ennoble  himself  by  his  own 
unaided  efforts  than  lift  himself  over  the  fence  by 
pulling  at  the  straps  of  his  boots.  All  efforts  at 
reformation  and  right  living,  without  the  soul's 
coming  into  right  relation  to  the  Divine,  are  futile 
and  vain.  But  these  natural  and  proper  relations 
once  fully  restored  and  established — the  soul  once 
planted  in  its  appropriate  soil,  it  grows  naturally 
and  even  luxuriantly,  and  brings  forth,  in  time, 
rich  and  abundant  fruit. 


44 


Professional  Ethics. 


.     .     .     c '  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do 
to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them." 


III. 

PROFESSIONAL  ETHICS. 

ETHICS  and  morals  are  synonymous  terms,  hav- 
ing reference  to  human  conduct,  behavior,  duty. 
In  professional  ethics  are  included  the  mutual  obliga- 
tions and  duties  of  members  of  the  same  profession, 
each  to  each  and  to  the  profession  at  large ;  and 
these  are  no  less  binding  than  those  of  any  other 
human  relation.  The  teacher  who  disregards  the 
rights  and  feelings  of  a  fellow  teacher,  is  as  blame- 
worthy as  he  is  when  he  neglects  or  refuses  to  pay 
his  grocery  bill.  He  is  debtor  in  both  cases,  and 
is  in  honor  and  in  duty  bound  to  discharge  the 
debt. 

A  modern  writer  has  said  that  the  greatest  of  all 
arts  for  the  mass  of  mankind  is  conduct,  and  that 
every  art  has  its  ideal,  the  standard  of  perfection, 
toward  which  the  efforts  of  all  who  practice  it  are 
more  or  less  consciously  directed.  The  ideal  of  the 
fine  art  of  conduct  has  its  embodiment  in  the  Golden 
Rule.  To  live  by  this  rule  in  form  and  spirit  is  the 
perfection  of  conduct.  One  main  source  of  our  un- 
rest, a  chief  obstacle  in  the  way  of  our  peace  and 
happiness,  is  our  failure  to  realize  this  ideal. 

The  self  element  is  strong  and  persistent.     We 
see  all  things  with  selfish  eyes,  and   fail  ' '  to  see 


47 


THK  TKACHKR  AND  HIS  WORK. 

ourselves  as  others  see  us. "  ' ' The  greatest  foe  of  the 
good  life  is  the  intense  and  irrational  impulse  each 
of  us  has  to  assert  himself,  even  to  the  loss  or  injury  of 
others,  to  take  more  than  his  due  share  of  the  good 
things,  and  less  than  his  share  of  the  work,  the  hard- 
ships, and  the  sufferings  of  human  life." 

Obedience  to  the  law  of  love  is  the  sum  of  good 
morals.  The  Golden  Rule  is  the  best  attainable 
working  rule  of  life  :  L,ove  thy  neighbor  as  thyself  ; 
put  yourself  in  his  place  ;  do  as  you  would  be  done 
by ;  or,  as  expanded  by  Confucius,  the  great  Chi- 
nese teacher  of  morals,  '  *  That  which  you  hate  in 
superiors,  do  not  practice  in  your  conduct  toward 
inferiors  ;  that  which  you  dislike  in  inferiors,  do 
not  practice  toward  superiors  ;  that  which  you  hate 
in  those  before  you,  do  not  exhibit  to  those  behind 
you  ;  that  which  you  hate  in  those  behind  you,  do 
not  manifest  to  those  before  you  ;  that  which  you 
hate  in  those  on  your  right,  do  not  manifest  to  those 
on  your  left;  that  which  you  hate  in  those  on  your 
left,  do  not  manifest  to  those  on  your  right.  This 
is  the  doctrine  of  measuring  others  by  ourselves." 
A  modern  moralist  suggests  that  though  the 
Golden  Rule  does  not  teach  us  precisely  what  is 
just,  or  true,  or  kind  in  each  particular  case,  it  does 
teach  us  to  act  according  to  the  knowledge  we  have 
of  the  just  and  the  true,  in  a  kind  and  sympathetic 
way  ;  and  that  to  live  in  obedience  to  this  rule  re- 
quires the  cultivation  of  the  intellectual  power  of 
imagination  and  the  capacity  of  sympathy.  ; '  The 


PROFESSION Aly 

better  we  can  imagine  objects  and  relations  not 
present  to  sense,  the  more  readily  we  can  sympa- 
thize with  others.  Half  the  cruelty  in  the  world  is 
the  direct  result  of  stupid  incapacity  to  put  one's 
self  in  the  other  man's  place." 

It  becomes  teachers  to  walk  close  to  the  line  of 
the  Golden  Rule  in  all  their  relations.  Could  they 
always  do  so,  it  would  be  to  them  a  crown  of  glory, 
and  a  great  inspiration  and  uplift  in  the  lives  of 
thOvSe  under  their  instruction. 

Every  member  of  a  profession,  being  entitled  to 
all  its  privileges  and  immunities,  is  under  obligation 
to  exert  his  best  abilities  to  maintain  its  dignity 
and  honor,  to  exalt  its  standing,  and  to  extend  its 
usefulness.  He  is  in  duty  bound  to  be  himself,  as 
far  as  in  him  lies,  an  honor  and  an  ornament  to  his 
profession. 

Every  teacher  owes  it  to  his  profession  to  be  the 
best  teacher,  the  most  efficient,  the  most  successful 
teacher  he  is  capable  of  becoming.  And  his  duty 
to  his  profession,  and  to  himself  as  well,  requires 
him  to  refrain  from  doing  whatever  tends  to  lower 
the  public  estimate  of  teachers  and  teaching. 

It  becomes  the  teacher  to  magnify  his  office.  He 
should  earnestly  strive  after  such  personal  attain- 
ments and  such  special  fitness  for  the  work,  and  so 
carry  himself  in  all  his  relations,  as  to  reflect  honor 
upon  his  calling.  This  is  one  of  the  first  duties  he 
owes  to  his  profession,  and  in  meeting  this  obliga- 
tion he  promotes  his  own  highest  interest.  In  a 


49 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

narrow  view,  his  duty  to  his  profession  may  at 
times  seem  to  clash  with  his  own  interest,  but  in  a 
broad  and  right  view  it  does  not. 

Teachers  sometimes  complain  of  the  low  place 
teaching  has  in  public  esteem.  No  other  influence 
is  so  great  in  this  direction  as  the  unprofessional 
conduct  of  teachers  themselves.  The  lack  of  deli- 
cacy and  sense  of  propriety  manifested  in  the  impor- 
tunity and  persistence  with  which  teachers  often 
press  their  claims  for  appointments,  to  say  nothing 
of  such  grosser  violations  of  good  taste  and  good 
morals  as  underbidding,  and  in  other  ways  crowding 
a  fellow- teacher  out  of  his  place,  does  much  to  bring 
teachers  and  teaching  into  disrepute.  There  seems 
no  good  reason  why  the  same  general  rules  of  pro- 
priety which  prevail  in  other  professions,  in  the 
matter  of  securing  employment,  should  not  be  ob- 
served among  teachers. 

A  lawyer  must  wait  for  clients  to  come  to  him. 
It  is  altogether  unprofessional  for  him  to  make  any 
advances  or  take  any  steps  in  the  direction  of  secur- 
ing business.  When  he  has  made  due  preparation 
and  has  been  duly  licensed  to  practice  law,  he  may 
put  up  a  sign,  insert  his  card  in  the  newspapers, 
and  wait  for  business  to  come.  A  lawyer,  now  on 
the  bench,  once  said  to  me  that  only  the  scavengers 
of  the  profession  were  ever  known  to  seek  clients  or 
make  direct  application  for  employment.  Such 
seems  to  be  the  unwritten  law  in  the  legal  profession. 

The  physician,  likewise,  must  wait  for  patients. 


PROFESSIONAL  ETHICS. 

Imagine  an  enterprising  young  physician  calling  at 
the  residence  of  a  sick  man,  presenting  his  testi- 
monials, and  asking  to  be  employed  to  take  charge 
of  the  case.  No,  the  physician  who  has  any  regard 
for  his  reputation  in  his  profession  always  waits  to 
be  called.  It  is  deemed  unprofessional  for  a  mem- 
ber of  the  medical  profession  even  to  draw  attention 
by  special  advertising  of  any  kind,  in  the  news- 
papers or  otherwise.  He  who  does  it  is  liable  to  get 
to  himself  the  name  of  quack.  A  friend  in  Phila- 
delphia once  called  my  attention  to  the  very  modest 
signs  of  the  physicians  of  that  city:  —  "Dr.  John 
Smith,"  on  a  simple  door  plate  —  nothing  more. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  in  regard  to  both  these  pro- 
fessions that  those  most  highly  cultured  and  refined 
are  most  scrupulous  in  the  observance  of  these  pro- 
prieties. 

Perhaps  the  case  of  the  clergyman  is  more  analo- 
gous to  that  of  the  teacher.  The  lawyer  serves  his 
individual  clients,  and  the  physician  his  individual 
patients;  while  the  clergyman  serves  his  parish  and 
the  teacher  his  school  district.  How  does  the  clergy- 
man secure  his  parish  ?  He,  too,  waits  to  be  called. 
It  has  been  reported  that  there  are  place-hunters 
among  the  clergy,  and  that  there  are  schemes  and 
devices  for  securing  good  places,  to  which  knowing 
ones  sometimes  resort;  but  such  cases  are  excep- 
tional. The  large  majority  of  clergymen  observe 
the  commonly  recognized  proprieties  of  their  profes- 
sion in  such  matters.  I  have  known  but  one  instance 


T^ACHB^R  AND  HIS  WORK. 

in  which  a  preacher  made  direct  application  to  be 
employed  as  pastor  of  a  church.  In  that  case  the 
disgusted  officials  denied  the  applicant  the  oppor- 
tunity of  being  heard  as  a  candidate. 

The  custom  is  different  among  teachers.  They 
make  direct  and  open  application  for  places,  and  are 
expected  to  do«so,  and  not  only  so;  they  often  com- 
pete with  each  other  and  strive  for  positions  like 
tradesmen  in  the  market.  The  sense  of  delicacy 
and  regard  for  the  proprieties,  which  largely  prevail 
in  other  professions,  seem  almost  wanting  among 
teachers;  and  this  not  in  the  lower  ranks  only,  nor 
among  those  who  seek  schools  as  stepping-stones  to 
more  lucrative  employment.  Those  who  hold  the 
higher  and  more  permanent  positions  are  often  the 
chief  scramblers. 

These  things  ought  not  so  to  be.  Teachers  ought 
to  receive  rather  than  make  proposals.  There  may 
be  no  disgrace  in  making  open  application  for  em- 
ployment under  a  board  of  education,  but  it  is 
indelicate  and  unseemly,  to  say  the  least.  There  is 
a  measure  of  embarrassment  about  it,  often  amount- 
ing to  humiliation,  that  is  far  from  agreeable  to  a 
sensitive  and  refined  nature.  Teachers  of  cultivated 
taste  and  refined  feelings  will  naturally  shrink  from 
obtruding  themselves  upon  the  attention  of  those 
who,  for  aught  they  know,  may  have  reasons 
against  their  employment.  It  certainly  would  be 
better  for  all  concerned,  if  the  same  unwritten  rules 
of  propriety  were  in  force  among  teachers  which 


PROFESSIONAL  ETHICS. 

prevail  in  the  other  professions.  All  the  schools 
would  have  teachers,  as  many  teachers  would  have 
places  as  now,  and  teachers  and  teaching  would 
be  held  in  higher  repute.  At  the  very  least,  it 
should  be  deemed  unprofessional  in  the  extreme  for 
a  teacher  to  make  direct  or  indirect  application  for  a 
place  that  is  not  known  to  be  vacant. 

It  is  the  duty  of  school  authorities  to  seek  out 
the  teachers  best  adapted  to  their  needs  and  condi- 
tions; and  to  an  intelligent  and  right-minded  trustee 
or  director  all  importunity  of  teachers  for  positions 
must  seem  an  impertinence.  It  would  be  well  for 
boards  of  education  everywhere  to  assert  their  pre- 
rogative and  discriminate  against  all  importunate 
place- vSeekers. 

But,  unfortunately,  boards  of  education  are  often 
the-  greatest  offenders  against  propriety  in  these 
matters.  They  encourage  place- hunting.  They  re- 
quire teachers,  even  their  old  and  tried  teachers,  to 
make  application  year  after  year,  even  going  so  far 
in  some  cases  as  to  refuse  to  consider  those  who  do 
not  formally  apply  —  a  species  of  humiliation  which 
teachers  should  always  resent.  The  excellent  grace 
of  humility  can  be  cultivated  in  other  ways.  I  call 
to  mind,  in  this  connection,  an  interesting  little 
episode  to  which  I  was  witness  several  years  ago. 
A  new  member  of  a  city  board  of  education  had 
secured  the  chairmanship  of  the  committee  on  teach- 
ers; and  to  signalize  his  advent  to  this  important 
position,  he  notified  the  teachers,  seventy  or  eighty 


53 


TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

in  number,  that  all  who  desired  re-election  must 
present  to  said  committeeman  an  application  in  due 
form.  The  first  teacher  approached  on  the  subject 
was  the  very  efficient  and  popular  lady  principal  of 
the  high  school,  whose  place  would  have  been  hard 
to  fill.  She  emphasized  with  her  foot  the  single 
word  which  came  from  her  lips — "  Never!  "  It  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  the  committeeman 
changed  his  plan.  It  is  a  very  absurd  procedure  for 
a  board  of  education  to  require  of  its  teachers  a 
formal  application  for  reappointment,  when,  as  not 
infrequently  is  the  case,  the  corps  contains  teachers 
whom  the  board  does  not  wish  to  re-employ. 

All  the  proprieties  of  the  case  require  a  board  of 
education  to  re-elect  promptly  and  without  solicita- 
tion all  the  approved  teachers  of  its  corps  who  do  not 
give  notice  of  a  purpose  to  retire,  and  the  same 
proprieties  require  the  teachers  to  accept  their  ap- 
pointments with  reasonable  promptness,  and  to  hold 
inviolate  the  contract  thus  made. 

The  election  should  take  place  at  or  before  the 
close  of  the  schools  at  the  end  of  the  school  year, 
and  those  not  to  be  retained  should  have  private 
information  of  the  fact  before  it  is  known  to  the 
public.  It  is  cowardly  in  a  board  of  education  to 
put  off  the  election  until  after  the  schools  have 
closed  and  the  teachers  have  scattered.  It  leaves 
teachers  in  a  state  of  suspense  and  anxiety  for 
which  there  is  no  justification.  At  least,  the 
escape  from  ' i  unpleasantness ' '  which  it  is  some- 


54 


OF 

)FKSSIONAly  KTHICS. 


times  meant  to  afford,   is   not   a   sufficient  justifi- 
cation. 

There  ought  to  be,  if  there  is  not,  a  day  of  reck- 
oning for  the  needless  anxiety  and  pain  which  teach- 
ers are  sometimes  made  to  suffer  by  the  thought- 
lessness and  heartlessness  of  boards  of  education. 
Cases  often  arise  in  which  it  becomes  necessary  to 
discontinue  the  services  of  teachers,  but  in  all  such 
cases  the  teachers  concerned  have  rights  and  feel- 
ings which  trustees  are  in  duty  bound  to  respect. 
Cases  like  the  following  are  not  rare,  in  which  an 
excellent  lady  suffered  hardship  and  wrong  at  the 
hands  of  a  board  of  education  she  had  served  faith- 
fully for  a  number  of  years.  The  election  was 
deferred  until  late  in  the  summer  vacation.  This 
lady,  as  well  as  the  others,  had  been  asked  whether 
she  desired  re-election  and  replied  in  the  affirmative. 
She  left  for  her  home  in  a  distant  state,  telling  her 
friends  she  would  return  when  schools  opened  in 
September.  So  confident  was  she  of  re-election  that 
she  declined  an  offer  of  a  position  elsewhere.  But 
when  the  list  of  teachers  appeared  in  the  papers 
after  the  election,  her  name  was  not  among  them, 
and  the  inquiries  of  her  friends  could  elicit  no  ex- 
planation. Her  living,  which  she  shared  with  a 
widowed  mother,  was  cut  off  without  warning  or 
a  word  of  explanation,  her  reputation  was  damaged 
needlessly,  her  spirit  was  broken,  and  her  health 
seriously  impaired.  She  was  a  lady  of  more  than 
average  ability  and  attainments,  and  of  excellent 


55 


TKACHKR  AND  HIS  WORK. 

Christian  character  and  womanly  qualities;  but  for 
some  reason  unknown  to  her,  she  was  not  in  favor 
with  her  trustees.  Whether  or  not  the  school  au- 
thorities had  sufficient  ground  for  discontinuing  her 
services,  the  heartless  and  cowardly  way  in  which 
it  was  done  cannot  be  too  severely  censured.  Trus- 
tees and  supervisors,  who  treat  their  teachers  thus 
stand  greatly  in  need  of  some  elementary  lessons  on 
the  Golden  Rule. 

Not  many  years  ago  the  people  of  a  flourishing 
little  city  on  the  Western  Reserve  were  much  agi- 
tated over  the  unceremonious  decapitation  of  nearly 
a  score  of  teachers  out  of  a  corps  of  a  hundred  or 
more,  in  most  cases  without  the  slightest  previous 
intimation  of  their  impending  fate.  The  board  met 
in  secret  session,  and  most  of  the  victims  had 
their  first  information  of  what  had  befallen  them 
from  the  next  day's  papers.  Several  of  those  be- 
headed had  served  in  their  places  faithfully  and 
efficiently  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  An  aggrava- 
tion of  the  wrong  was  in  the  gibbeting  of  these  old, 
faithful  servants  in  the  headlines  of  sensational 
articles  in  the  daily  papers. 

There  will,  of  course,  come  a  time  when  old 
teachers  who  have  served  long  and  well  must  be  re- 
tired; but  there  ought  to  be  found  a  more  humane, 
a  less  cruel  way  of  doing  it.  With  proper  relations 
between  superintendent  and  board  and  between 
superintendent  and  teachers,  much  of  the  hurt  of 
such  retirements  might  be  avoided. 

56 


PROFESSIONAL  ETHICS. 

There  are  some  things  for  teachers  to  consider  in 
relation  to  such  matters.  It  behooves  them  to  recog- 
nize fully  the  fact  that  the  schools  exist  not  for 
them,  but  for  the  children,  and  to  remember  always 
that  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  prepare  in  fair 
weather  for  the  rainy  day  that  is  sure  to  come.  It 
is  not  always,  nor  generally,  the  part  of  wisdom  to  re- 
sent and  resist  an  adverse  decision  of  the  powers 
that  be.  The  general  presumption  is  that  such 
action  is  not  wholly  without  good  ground.  The  first 
duty  of  a  teacher  who  fails  of  re-election  is  to  look 
well  within  for  the  cause  before  he  lays  blame  at 
other  doors.  After  a  rigid  self-examination  he 
should  deal  candidly  and  honestly  with  himself, 
in  accordance  with  the  facts  he  finds,  and  be  pre- 
pared to  profit  by  his  experience  in  a  new  field.  It 
is  never  the  part  of  wisdom  for  a  teacher  who  has 
lost  his  place  to  make  of  himself  a  disturbing  ele- 
ment in  community  by  remaining  to  find  fault  with 
his  successor,  hoping  thereby  to  secure  his  own  re- 
instatement. Better  far  devote  his  energies  to 
fitting  himself  for  better  work  in  a  new  field,  when- 
ever it  shall  open. 

Teachers  who  have  been  re-elected  should  recog- 
nize their  obligation  to  respond  without  unreasonable 
delay.  It  should  be  considered  unprofessional  for  a 
teacher  to  withhold  his  acceptance  until  the  last 
moment,  except  with  consent,  in  the  hope  of  secur- 
ing a  better  offer.  And  once  a  position  has  been 
accepted,  the  binding  obligation  of  the  contract 


57 


THE)  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

should  be  recognized  and  scrupulously  kept.  It  has 
been  sometimes  charged,  and  not  without  reason, 
that  the  obligation  of  a  contract  rests  lightly  upon 
the  teacher's  conscience.  A  teacher's  contract  with 
a  board  of  education  is  as  binding  as  any  other  con- 
tract, and  should  be  so  considered.  Once  the  en- 
gagement is  entered  into,  the  teacher  is  not  at 
liberty  to  entertain  a  proposition  from  any  other 
source,  except  with  the  full  and  free  consent  of  the 
other  party  to  the  contract. 

Teachers  should  be  examples  of  integrity  and 
honor  in  all  these  things,  even  though  it  should 
prove  for  the  time  to  their  pecuniary  disadvantage. 
It  will  pay  in  the  long  run.  It  is  a  pleasure  to 
make  honorable  mention  of  a  case  brought  to  my 
notice,  in  which  a  young  lady  teacher  showed  a  high 
sense  of  honor.  She  had  been  recommended  to  two 
boards  of  education,  and  had  accepted  the  first 
offer.  A  few  days  later,  from  the  other  board  came 
the  offer  of  a  more  desirable  position  at  a  salary 
fifteen  dollars  a  month  better.  "The  position," 
she  replied,  "is  just  what  I  wanted,  and  I  would 
gladly  have  accepted  it;  but  my  word  is  out,  I  can- 
not take  it." 

Another  similar  case  comes  to  mind.  I  was  in 
correspondence  with  a  young  man  about  his  taking 
the  principalship  of  the  schools  of  a  village.  The 
letter  containing  a  definite  offer  of  the  position  was. 
delayed  some  time  by  falling  into  wrong  hands,  and 
he  accepted  a  country  school  at  a  much  smaller 

58 


PROFESSIONAL  ETHICS. 

salary.  When  the  letter  reached  him  he  expressed 
his  disappointment  and  regret,  but  ended  the  matter 
by  saying,  ' '  I  have  promised  to  teach  my  home 
school,  and  father  thinks  I  cannot  honorably  ask  to 
be  released."  These  are  examples  worthy  of  imi- 
tation. 

Teachers  are  sometimes  too  eager  for  advance- 
ment. They  are  scarcely  well  settled  in  one  posi- 
tion before  they  begin  to  cast  about  them  for  a 
better  one.  Gen.  Sherman's  advice  to  a  graduating 
class  at  West  Point  is  equally  appropriate  for  teach- 
ers: "  Do  not  be  impatient  for  promotion. "  The 
success  that  comes  by  earnest  work  and  patient 
waiting  is  worth  having.  Many  people  have  made 
shipwreck  by  pushing  themselves  into  ( '  good 
places  "  before  they  have  well  proved  their  powers. 
The  itch  for  promotion  is  not  a  favorable  symptom. 
Concern  for  fitness  and  faithfulness  in  present  duty 
are  more  desirable  and  more  promising  than  ambi- 
tion for  self-advancement.  Make  a  demand  for 
your  services.  High  qualifications  are  always  in 
demand.  It  is  true  that  modest  worth  is  sometimes 
crowded  out  by  brazen  incompetence.  But  be  not 
impatient;  incompetence  will  have  run  its  course 
and  will  make  way  for  you  by  the  time  you  are 
fully  ready.  Eminent  fitness  waits  not  long  for 
opportunity. 


59 


Preparation  and  Adaptation. 


4 'The  first  characteristic  of  life  everywhere  is  change, 
growth,  adaptation  to  modifying  circumstances  and  events." 


IV. 
PREPARATION  AND  ADAPTATION. 

THE  more  one  thinks  about  the  work  of  teaching, 
the  more  exalted,  the  more  noble  does  it  seem. 
When  directly  engaged  in  the  work,  I  usually  had 
a  considerable  measure  of  enthusiasm — sometimes, 
as  I  now  see,  more  zeal  than  wisdom.  But  looking 
back  over  the  way  by  which  I  have  come,  and  look- 
ing out  upon  the  present  aspect  of  the  work,  I  am 
filled  with  a  more  intense  enthusiasm.  I  am  glad 
that  it  was  my  privilege,  since  there  was  no  other 
way  for  me,  to  grope  along  with  some  glimmerings 
of  light  here  and  there  on  my  pathway.  I  rejoice 
that  my  mistakes  were  no  greater,  and  that  with 
each  slip  or  fall  I  had  courage  to  rise  and  renew  my 
efforts. 

It  is  some  comfort  to  reflect,  in  view  of  one's 
own  short-comings  and  failures,  that  success  in  life 
is  ^  rare  except  through  repeated  failures.  Robert 
Louis  Stevenson  has  declared  that  our  business  in 
life  is  not  to  succeed,  but  to  continue  to  fail  in  good 
spirits.  Failures  stand  thick  in  every  pathway. 
The  successful  people  are  those  who  will  not  ac- 
knowledge themselves  beaten  because  they  stumble 
and  fall,  but  persist  in  getting  up  and  pressing  for- 
ward. The  life  of  the  Great  Man  of  Nazareth  even 


THK  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

was  full  of  failures.  ' (  He  failed  in  His  preach- 
ing— only  a  few  received  Him;  He  failed  in  his  teach- 
ing— very  few  believed  Him;  He  failed  to  convince 
the  world  of  His  mission  —  they  rejected  Him  and 
crucified  Him/'  Yet  how  grandly  He  succeeded! 
He  showed  the  greatness  of  His  spirit  by  His  pa- 
tient endurance  and  persistence  through  a  whole 
life  of  failure. 

There  is  great  satisfaction  in  the  retrospect  of  a 
life  of  hardness  endured,  of  obstacles  surmounted, 
of  attainments  made.  It  is  one  of  nature's  benefi- 
cent provisions  that  in  such  a  retrospect  the  follies 
and  mistakes  grow  dim  as  they  recede,  and  all  that 
is  worthy  and  noble  grows  brighter  as  the  years 
goby. 

This  old  world  has  seen  no  other  such  age  as  the 
present.  Things  are  not  what  they  were.  We  are 
making  history  very  fast  now.  Any  observant  and 
thoughtful  person  who  can  look  back  over  fifty 
years  of  life,  cannot  fail  to  be  profoundly  impressed 
with  the  rush  of  events.  This  last  decade  of  the 
old  century  holds  more  of  good  for  the  world 
than  any  other  decade  of  the  century.  The  good 
time  coming  is  hastening.  It  is  grand  to  live  in 
such  a  time,  and  grander  still  to  have  an  important 
part  in  forming  the  character  and  shaping  the  life  of 
such  an  age.  What  an  honor  to  be  called  to  the 
work  of  teaching  in  this  day!  —  especially  when 
one's  eyes  have  been  opened  to  see  the  work  in  its 
true  light. 

64 


PREPARATION  AND  ADAPTATION. 

It  is  not  easy  to  estimate  how  large  a  part  teach- 
ers have  had  in  the  marvelous  development  of  the 
race  in  the  last  fifty  years,  much  less  to  estimate 
truly  the  part  they  have  in  guiding  the  forces  which 
are  now  operating  for  the  further  uplifting  of  hu- 
manity. A  soldier  in  the  midst  of  the  fight  cannot 
always  see  how  the  battle  is  going,  nor  can  an  actor 
on  any  part  of  the  world's  stage  always  judge  cor- 
rectly of  the  true  relations  and  the  full  effect  of  the 
part  he  is  playing.  Certain  it  is  that  the  schools  of 
this  day  are  much  in  advance  of  those  of  fifty  years 
ago.  The  discipline  is  better,  and  the  teaching 
is  better.  The  pupils  are  more  tractable,  more 
easily  governed,  and  better  behaved;  and  as  a  rule 
they  are  surrounded  by  a  more  wholesome  and 
invigorating  moral  atmosphere. 

For  his  important  work  the  teacher  requires 
special  preparation  and  special  adaptation.  I  refer 
not  now  to  the  general  preparation,  in  the  way  of 
scholarship  arid  professional  knowledge,  which 
every  teacher  should  have,  a  vouc'her  for  which, 
in  the  form  of  a  license,  he  should  secure  before 
making  an  engagement  to  teach;  but  rather  to  the 
special  preparation  necessary  for  a  particular  field  of 
labor.  The  work  should  be  undertaken  with  full 
knowledge  and  well  matured  plans.  If  he  is  to 
teach  in  a  graded  school,  the  teacher  should  know 
beforehand  what  grade  or  grades  he  is  to  teach,  and 
should  make  himself  familiar  with  every  detail  of 

65 


TKACHKR  AND  HIS  WORK. 

the  work  prescribed  for  his  department, —  the  text- 
books used,  the  rules  and  regulations  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  schools,  and  the  prevailing  practices 
and  customs  of  the  school  and  of  the  community, 
which  sometimes  obtain  almost  the  force  of  law.  In 
these  days  of  close  supervision  of  graded  schools,  it 
is  comparatively  an  easy  matter  for  the  teacher  to 
gain  such  a  knowledge  of  the  work  in  any  depart- 
ment as  to  enable  him  to  adapt  himself  readily  to 
his  place  in  the  system. 

The  new  teacher  in  a  country  school  has  a  more 
difficult  task.  In  most  rural  communities  the 
teacher  is,  in  great  measure,  a  law  unto  himself. 
He  must  devise  his  own  plans  and  methods  and 
carry  them  out  as  well  as  he  can  without  the  guid- 
ance and  support  upon  which  the  teacher  in  graded 
schools  relies,  and  to  this  end  he  has  need  of  special 
preparation. 

i.  He  should  acquaint  himself  with  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  is  to  teach.  Country  neighbor- 
hoods not  far  apart  sometimes  differ  widely,  and 
the  measures  which  a  teacher  may  successfully  carry 
out  in  one  may  not  answer  at  all  in  another.  About 
the  year  1850,  I  taught  successfully  a  school  in 
a  Scotch-Irish  community  in  the  Miami  Valley. 
On  account  of  larger  salary  I  accepted  a  call  to 
teach  the  following  winter  in  an  adjoining  district, 
containing  a  considerable  German  element,  and 
undertook  to  carry  out  there  the  plans  and  methods 
which  had  proven  so  successful  in  the  other  school. 

66 


PREPARATION  AND  ADAPTATION. 

The  result  was  a  failure.  My  management  did  not 
meet  with  general  approval,  and  the  school  dwindled 
to  almost  nothing  before  the  end  of  the  term.  My 
patrons  and  I  did  not  see  from  the  same  standpoint, 
and  were  not  in  harmony. 

Besides  a  knowledge  of  the  intelligence  and 
character  of  his  community,  the  teacher  of  a  coun- 
try school  should  have,  before  beginning  his  work, 
a  good  understanding  of  the  prevailing  educational 
sentiment  of  his  district.  It  is  a  matter  of  the  first 
importance  for  him  to  know  whether  his  people  are 
progressive  or  otherwise,  and  whether  or  not  he 
may  rely  upon  their  co-operation  in  carrying  out 
improved  plans  of  organization,  management,  and 
instruction,  that  he  may  make  his  plans  accordingly. 

2.  A  teacher  should  know  as  much  as  possible 
about  the  previous  management  of  'his  school.  It 
would  be  profitable  for  him  to  know  whether 
it  has  been  controlled  by  reason  and  love,  or  by  force 
and  fear,  and  whether  the  government  has  been 
rigid  or  slack.  As  to  the  teaching,  it  would  be  well  to 
know  whether  that  has  been  thorough  or  superficial, 
and  what  habits  of  application  and  self-reliance 
have  been  formed  in  the  pupils.  Of  course  definite 
and  full  knowledge  of  these  things  can  only  be 
obtained  by  actual  test  in  the  school  room ;  but 
a  general  impression,  of  great  service  in  forming 
plans,  may  be  gained  by  a  teacher  who  knows  how 
to  keep  eyes  and  ears  open  and  use  his  tongue 
wisely.  This  last  is  of  special  importance.  Words 

67 


THK  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

of  disparagement  or  criticism  are  not  at  all  in  place 
at  such  a  time.  Whatever  of  good  is  learned  con- 
cerning previous  management  should  be  com- 
mended; but  what  is  not  commendable  should  be 
passed  in  silence.  No  word  of  censure  or  disparage- 
ment of  previous  management  should  escape  *  the 
lips  of  the  new  teacher. 

3.  Concerning  present  conditions,  his  informa- 
tion should  be  as  full  and  exact  as  possible.     The 
number  of  pupils  likely  to  attend,  the  number  of 
classes  and  the  stage  of  advancement  of  each  in 
each  study,  the  text-books  used,  the  maps,  charts, 
and  other  appliances  furnished,   are  some  of   the 
things  concerning  which  the  teacher  would  do  well 
to  inform  himself  before  beginning  his  work.     It 
would  greatly  facilitate  the  work  in  country  schools 
if  teachers  were  required  to  leave  for  their  suc- 
cessors a  complete  record  of  all  these  things.     Such 
a  record  might  include  a  roll  of  each  class,  the 
standing  of  each  member  in  each  study,  and  a  gen- 
eral statement  of  the  work  accomplished. 

4.  He  should  know  of  any  special  difficulties  or 
peculiar  cases  that  may  exist.     There  is  some  di- 
versity of  sentiment  among  teachers  on  this  point, 
some  maintaining  that  if  there  is  a  bad  boy  in  the 
school,  or  a  troublesome  parent  in  the  district,  the 
teacher  will  learn  the  fact  soon  enough,  and  to  be 
informed  beforehand  may  beget  prejudice  or  bias  in 
his  mind.    To  this  it  may  be  answered  that  a  teacher 
is  supposed  to  have  some  discretion;  and  if,  knowing 

68 


PREPARATION  AND  ADAPTATION. 

the  disposition  and  tendencies  of  a  bad  boy,  lie 
is  unable  to  deal  wisely  with  him,  he  is  not  likely  to 
manage  him  more  successfully  by  coming  upon  him 
unawares.  To  be  forewarned  is  to  be  forearmed. 

I  recall  an  instance  in  which  a  teacher  turned  to 
good  account  her  foreknowledge  of  the  bad  boy 
in  her  school.  A  lady  was  compelled  to  give  up  her 
school  in  term-time  on  account  of  sickness  at  home, 
and  her  successor,  before  taking  charge,  spent  a  day 
in  the  school  with  the  old  teacher.  It  happened  on 
this  day  that  the  bad  boy  manifested  himself.  He 
was  a  stout  lad,  with  a  large  head,  short,  thick  neck, 
and  a  bulldog  face.  The  teacher  whipped  him  in 
the  forenoon,  and  in  the  afternoon  the  father  came 
and  there  was  a  ' '  heap  of  trouble. ' '  The  new 
teacher  thought  the  prospect  not  very  inviting,  but 
she  studied  the  situation  and  kept  her  own  counsel. 
The  following  Monday  morning  she  took  charge. 
Soon  after  the  opening  of  school,  looking  over  to 
the  bad  boy's  corner,  she  said,  "Jimmy,  will  you 
come  to  my  desk?  "  When  Jimmy  came  forward, 
wondering  what  was  to  happen,  she  asked,  "Jim- 
my, do  you  know  where  I  board?  —  with  Mrs. 
Smith,  down  on  the  corner  of  the  next  street  be- 
yond the  cooper  shop."  And  Jimmy  answered, 
"Yes  ma'am;  I  know  where  Mrs.  Smith  lives." 
"  I  wonder,"  continued  the  teacher,  "whether  you 
would  be  so  kind  as  to  run  down  and  ask  Mrs. 
Smith  to  give  you  my  knife;  it  lies  on  the  table 
in  my  room."  Of  course  he  would,  and  away  he 

69 


THE)  T£ACHBR  AND  HIS  WORK. 

runs,  and  in  a  few  minutes  returns  and  hands  the 
knife  to  the  teacher.  As  he  takes  his  seat  there  is 
on  his  face  an  expression  which  plainly  says,  "  She'll 
do.  She  understands  me.  She's  the  right  kind  of 
a  teacher/'  The  teacher  had  gained  a  friend,  and 
the  bad  boy  suddenly  disappeared  from  that  school 
and  was  known  there  no  more  that  term. 

5.  The   condition  of  the  school  house  and  its 
surroundings  should  be  looked   to.     This   is  the 
business  of  the  directors,  but  as  they  are  apt  to 
neglect  it,  it  will  pay  the  teacher  to  give  it  his 
attention.      He   should  visit   the   premises  before 
the  opening  day  and  see  that  all  things  are  in  readi- 
ness.    All  broken  furniture  should  be  repaired  or 
replaced,   broken   lights  of  glass  reset,   door   and 
window    fastenings    put    in    order,    broken   gates, 
fences  and  walks  made  good,  and  house  and  out- 
buildings   made    clean    and    kept    so.     Especially 
should  all  obscene  pictures  and  vulgar  pencilings 
about  the  premises  be  erased,  covered  with  paint, 
or  burned   with   fire.      Some   schools   are  schools 
of  vice  because  of  the  vileness  tolerated  about  the 
premises.     No  amount  of  effort  and  pains  necessary 
to  prevent  such  a  condition  is  too  great  for  the 
teacher.     Better  abate  the  school  as  a  nuisance  than 
that  such  things  continue. 

6.  The  teacher  should  prepare  himself.     By  con- 
sidering well  the  work  before  him  and  the  surround- 
ing conditions,  and  by  communing  with  his  own 
heart,  he  should  seek  to  bring  himself  into  right 


70 


PREPARATION  AND  ADAPTATION. 

attitude  and  right  relations  to  all  his  environment. 
He  should  consider  that  the  contract  he  has  entered 
into  with  the  school  directors  is  not  the  only  con- 
tract by  which  he  is  bound;  but  that  between  the 
lines  there  is  written  another,  more  sacred,  more 
binding,  with  each  child  to  come  under  his  care  and 
instruction,  to  be  to  each  all  that  the  word  teacher 
implies  —  a  faithful  and  true  friend,  a  guide  and  in- 
spiration. The  true  teacher  will  so  feel  the  binding 
obligation  of  this  higher  contract  as  almost  to  lose 
sight  of  the  one  he  has  with  the  directors,  looking 
upon  the  latter  merely  as  a  necessary  form  prelim- 
inary to  that  which  is  more  vital  and  real. 

It  is  very  important  for  the  teacher  to  form  a 
just  estimate  of  his  work,  taking  into  account  all 
the  conditions  and  surroundings.  Indulgence  in 
too  high  ideals  is  probably  not  the  besetting  sin 
of  teachers.  A  high  ideal  is  very  desirable  when 
tempered  with  good  judgment.  It  is  possible  for 
one's  ideals  to  carry  him  away  into  the  realm  of  the 
visionary  and  the  impracticable.  It  is  well  for  the 
teacher  to  bear  in  mind  that  his  school  district  does 
not  lie  in  Utopia,  and  to  discriminate  pretty  clearly 
between  what,  under  existing  circumstances,  can  be 
done  and  what  cannot  be  done.  It  is  never  worth 
while  to  attempt  the  impossible.  A  wise  mariner  will 
not  deliberately  run  his  ship  upon  a  rock,  on  the 
ground  that  the  rock  has  no  business  to  be  there. 
It  is  sometimes  best  to  tack  a  little. 

I  recall  an  interesting  case  of  a  young  man  of 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

good  ability  and  fair  scholarship,  who  engaged  to 
teach  a  country  school  in  one  of  the  Western  Re- 
serve counties.  He  had  a  high  ideal,  and  was 
ambitious  to  excel.  When  he  received  his  certifi- 
cate from  the  examiners  he  expressed  his  deter- 
mination to  have  the  best  school  in  the  county. 
He  had  not  been  teaching  long,  however,  when 
trouble  began.  He  had  progressive  ideas  and  un- 
dertook to  carry  out  measures  which  may  have 
been  well  enough  in  themselves,  but  which  met 
with  determined  opposition  in  that  community.  In 
the  discord  and  contention  that  arose,  the  teacher 
said  and  did  some  unwise  things,  and  about  the 
middle  of  the  term  the  directors  met  and  discharged 
him.  He  had  the  satisfaction  of  collecting  his  full 
salary,  after  two  trials  in  court,  though,  doubtless, 
his  attorney's  fees  absorbed  the  most  of  it.  For 
the  want  of  a  little  tact  and  adaptation  to  existing 
conditions,  the  teacher  suffered  seriously  in  reputa- 
tion as  well  as  in  pocket,  and  the  district  lost  the 
greater  part  of  a  winter's  schooling. 

It  is  well  sometimes  to  stoop  a  little  when  one's 
head  is  in  danger.  It  is  said  that  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin, when  a  young  man,  had  occasion  to  call  on  old 
Dr.  Cotton  Mather.  On  taking  leave,  Dr.  Mather 
showed  him  out  through  a  dark  passage,  and  at  one 
point  said  to  him,  "Stoop  a  little  here."  But 
Franklin,  not  clearly  understanding  the  direction, 
walked  on  and  his  head  struck  a  beam  overhead. 
Whereupon  Dr.  Mather  turned  and  said,  ' '  Young 

72 


PREPARATION  AND  ADAPTATION. 

man,  if  you'll  learn  to  stoop  a  little  as  you  go 
through  the  world,  you'll  save  yourself  many  a 
hard  thump." 

A  word  of  caution  may  not  be  out  of  place  here. 
One  must  not  be  always  stooping.  It  is  well  to 
learn  when  to  stoop  and  when  to  stand  and  walk 
erect.  Be  this  your  rule:  Never  stoop  or  yield 
when  a  question  of  right  or  duty  is  involved,  even 
at  the  risk  of  some  hard  thumps;  but  in  matters  of 
mere  preference  or  expediency  it  is  wise  to  avoid  all 
needless  thumps.  And  even  when  thumps  must  be 
taken  in  the  performance  of  duty,  there  is  often  a 
way  of  breaking  the  force  of  the  blow  by  interposing 
a  cushion  of  blandness  and  suavity. 

Much  experience  and  observation  lead  me  to  lay 
down  this  rule  for  young  teachers,  to  be  taken  with 
exceptions  and  modifications  above  noted:  Adapt 
yourself  and  your  methods  to  the  needs  and  expecta- 
tions of  the  people  you  serve. 

I  was  much  interested,  some  years  ago,  in  the 
experience  of  two  girls  who  went  out  from  the  same 
high  school,  and  taught  successively  the  same  coun- 
try school.  The  first,  Miss  B.,  made  herself  very 
much  at  home  among  her  patrons,  and  was  very 
popular.  She  boarded  at  the  house  of  a  farmer  not 
far  from  the  school.  When  the  good  house-wife 
was  unusually  busy  and  the  supper  was  late,  she 
would  get  for  herself  a  slice  of  bread  and  a  cup  of 
milk  ;  and  when  milking  time  came  she  would  some- 
times say,  '  *  L,et  me  have  a  pail ;  I  can  milk. ' ' 

73 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

Thus  she  made  herself  not  only  agreeable  but  help- 
ful. She  had  the  happy  faculty  of  adapting  her- 
self to  her  surroundings,  and  of  putting  herself  in 
sympathy  with  those  among  whom  she  labored. 
She  carried  the  same  spirit  into  her  school,  and  in 
the  same  way  won  the  hearts  of  her  pupils.  She 
became  a  very  popular  teacher,  and  soon  received 
a  call  to  a  better  position. 

The  next  season,  Miss  R.,  the  other  one  of  the 
two  girls,  was  employed  to  teach  the  same  school 
and  boarded  at  the  same  place.  She  was  the  more 
scholarly,  and  in  many  respects  the  more  promising, 
of  the  two.  But  her  notions  of  the  fitness  of  things 
were  very  different  from  those  of  Miss  B.  On 
her  return  from  school  at  the  close  of  the  day, 
she  retired  to  the  parlor  with  her  book  or  magazine, 
and  awaited  the  call  to  tea.  She  knew  little  about 
cows  or  milking,  and  cared  less.  She  took  no 
interest  in  the  things  which  interested  the  people 
about  her,  and  was  altogether  out  of  harmony  with 
her  surroundings.  Her  pupils  and  their  parents 
were  not  slow  in  coming  to  the  conclusion,  justly  or 
unjustly,  that  she  felt  herself  above  them,  and  her 
influence,  in  school  and  out,  was  small.  She  gave 
up  the  school  in  disgust  before  the  end  of  the  term. 

This  is  a  true  story.  The  two  cases  are  typical 
ones,  from  which  young  teachers  may  learn  an  im- 
portant lesson. 


74 


School  Organization. 


"  I  have  seen  the  school  in  operation,  so  perfectly  sys- 
tematized, all  its  arrangements  so  complete,  and  its  depart- 
ments so  perfectly  adjusted,  that  the  working  of  its  ma- 
chinery not  only  produced  no  friction,  but  created  order, 
interest,  and  zeal,  such  as  secured  the  desired  object.  .  .  . 
On  the  other  hand,  I  have  often  wit- 
nessed the  utter  failure  of  apparently  competent  teachers, 
for  the  want  of  system  in  the  arrangement  and  classification 
of  their  schools.  Organization  is  the  first  business  of  the 
school  room,  and  nothing  else  should  be  attempted  until 
this  is  complete." — Orcutt. 


V. 

SCHOOL,  ORGANIZATION. 

THE  proper  organization  of  a  school  consists 
mainly  in  such  an  adjustment  of  the  school 
machinery,  such  classification  of  the  pupils  and 
assignment  of  work  to  each,  and  the  adoption  of 
such  regulations  as  will  secure  constant  employ- 
ment, efficient  instruction,  and  the  greatest  moral 
influence.  The  aim  and  tendency  of  all  the  adjust- 
ments and  arrangements  should  be  to  ' '  remove 
friction,  induce  order,  and  secure  cheerful  and  ef- 
fective work." 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  importance 
and  difficulty  of  school  organization  are  under- 
estimated. This  is  especially  true  of  the  rural 
schools.  One  who  has  had  large  experience  bears 
this  testimony:  "  I  have  visited  more  than  a  thou- 
sand country  schools,  and  I  have  not  found  one 
in  twenty  well  organized.  Many  of  the  worst 
organized  schools  I  have  found  in  the  hands  of 
teachers  claiming  from  five  to  forty  years'  ex- 
perience." In  an  examination  of  teachers  on 
"Theory  and  Practice,"  one  thing  asked  of  the  ap- 
plicants was  to  describe  a  well  organized  school. 
Not  one  of  the  twenty-six  applicants  gave  evidence 
of  any  clear  knowledge  on  the  subject,  and  more 


77 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

than  half  of  them  betrayed  utter  ignorance  of  what 
is  implied  by  organization,  though  many  of  them 
were  of  mature  years  and  considerable  experience 
as  teachers.  Some  seemed  to  confound  organiza- 
tion with  preserving  order  and  conducting  recita- 
tions. 

Much  of  a  teacher's  success  depends  upon  his 
skill  in  organizing.  A  school  may  be  so  organized 
and  operated  as  to  become  almost  an  automatic 
mechanism,  reducing  the  demand  upon  the  teach- 
er's attention  and  vitality  to  the  minimum.  To 
this  end  the  organization  should  be  as  simple  as 
possible.  A  school  may  be  too  much  organized. 
Devices  may  be  multiplied  and  the  machinery  be- 
come so  complicated  as  to  tax  the  teacher's 
strength  and  skill  to  keep  all  in  operation.  A  sim- 
ple machine  is  more  easily  operated  and  less  liable 
to  get  out  of  order  than  one  more  complicated. 

One  of  the  first  things  requiring  attention  in  the 
organization  of  a  school  is  classification  or  grading. 
Every  school  should  be  a  graded  school.  Pupils  of 
equal  or  like  attainments  should  be  placed  in  the 
same  class  or  grade  and  receive  the  same  instruc- 
tion. A  close  classification  in  a  system  of  graded 
schools  requires  all  the  pupils  of  a  given  grade, 
or  standard,  as  it  is  called  in  England,  to  pursue 
the  same  studies  at  the  same  time,  keeping  abreast 
in  all.  What  is  sometimes  called  a  loose  classifica- 
tion permits  pupils  to  pursue  different  studies 
with  different  classes.  The  former  is  much  more 


SCHOOL   ORGANIZATION. 

desirable.  The  latter  is  justifiable,  in  city  schools, 
only  in  exceptional  cases  or  as  a  temporary  ex- 
pedient. 

The  number  of  classes  or  grades  in  a  system 
of  graded  schools  usually  corresponds  to  the  num- 
ber of  years  required  by  the  average  pupil  to  com- 
plete the  course  of  study.  In  most  cities  and  towns 
there  are  eight  yearly  grades  below  the  high  school. 
By  this  classification,  pupils  who  fail  of  promotion 
are  compelled  to  fall  back  a  year;  and  strong,  bright 
pupils  cannot  advance  faster  than  the  class  to  which 
they  belong,  except  by  jumping  an  entire  year. 
Thus  there  is  often  a  conflict  between  the  good 
of  the  individual  pupil  and  what  seems  to  be  the 
general  good.  Some  remedy  for  this  evil  has  been 
found  in  the  plan  of  semi-annual  classification, 
which  makes  two  distinct  grades  for  each  year  of 
the  course  of  study.  This  makes  the  steps  between 
grades  shorter,  and  the  transition  from  grade  to 
grade  easier.  Pupils  who  fail  of  promotion  fall 
back  but  half  a  year,  and  capable  and  ambitious 
pupils  may  sometimes  leave  their  grade  and  ad- 
vance to  the  next  without  undue  effort  or  strain. 
The  plan  has  been  in  successful  operation  in  the 
schools  of  Akron  for  more  than  twenty  years.  A 
class  has  been  graduated  from  the  high  school  and 
promotions  have  been  made  in  all  the  schools  twice 
each  year.  The  chief  advantages  are  a  closer  and 
better  classification  and  shorter  and  easier  steps 
from  one  class  to  another.  It  is  sometimes  objected 


79 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

that  the  frequency  of  promotions  does  not  permit 
pupils  to  remain  long  enough  with  the  same  teacher 
for  the  best  results.  This  might  be  overcome  by 
the  German  plan  of  promoting  the  teachers  with 
their  pupils. 

It  should  be  observed  that  semi-annual  classifi- 
cation cannot  be  readily  carried  out  in  the  smaller 
towns,  because  of  the  tendency  to  multiply  classes 
and  to  give  to  each  teacher  too  large  a  number  of 
daily  recitations.  It  is  practicable  only  when  a 
sufficient  number  of  pupils  of  like  attainments  can 
be  brought  together  to  form  schools  of  not  more 
than  two  semi-annual  grades  each. 

With  pupils  old  enough  to  prepare  and  recite 
lessons,  the  best  classification  for  effective  work 
is  that  which  gives  to  each  teacher  two  grades. 
Some  teachers  prefer  an  entire  school  of  one  grade. 
It  requires  less  daily  preparation  on  the  part  of  the 
teacher,  and  some  lessons  and  exercises  can  be 
given  to  the  whole  school  at  once,  thereby  saving 
labor  and  affording  time  and  opportunity  for  giving 
help  in  the  preparation  of  lessons  to  those  that  need 
it.  But  an  entire  school  of  forty  or  fifty  pupils 
makes  too  large  a  class  to  recite  together  in  the 
principal  studies,  such  as  arithmetic,  grammar, 
or  history.  A  division  into  sections  becomes  a 
necessity,  and  only  those  who  have  tried  it  can 
appreciate  the  difficulty  of  hearing  two  divisions 
of  the  same  class  recite  successively  the  same  lesson 
in  the  same  room.  I  have  never  known  the 


80 


SCHOOIv   ORGANIZATION. 

experiment  to  be  tried  with  satisfactory  results. 
All  things  considered,  that  is  the  best  classification 
which  gives  to  each  teacher  two  different  grades  for 
alternate  study  and  recitation.  It  should  be  care- 
fully noted  here  that  no  possible  classification  can 
relieve  the  teacher  from  painstaking  individual 
instruction.  With  the  best  classification  that  can 
be  made,  under  the  most  favorable  conditions,  the 
teacher  who  fully  understands  his  business  will 
still  find  a  necessity  for  dealing  with  individuals. 
Children  cannot  be  well  taught  in  bulk.  Individuals 
must  be  studied  and  instruction  and  training  must 
be  adapted  to  the  needs  of  each.  One  of  the  hard 
problems  for  the  young  teacher  is  so  to  conduct  the 
class  recitation  as  to  meet  and  supply  the  need 
of  each  individual  in  the  class;  but  it  is  a  problem 
which  must  be  solved.  Complete  success  can  be 
attained  in  no  other  way. 

The  classification  of  country  schools  presents 
serious  difficulties,  requiring  the  exercise  of  good 
judgment,  patience,  courage,  and  perseverance. 
Of  course  no  such  classification  as  that  which  pre- 
vails in  city  schools  is  possible  in  the  country.  The 
wide  range  of  subjects  which  must  be  taught  by  one 
teacher  and  the  small  number  of  pupils  of  same 
attainment  and  ability  in  a  country  school  are  in- 
superable obstacles.  Besides,  the  irregular  habits 
of  many  country  people  in  regard  to  school  attend- 
ance have  a  tendency  to  increase  the  difficulties; 
and  because  of  the  difficulties,  few  country  teachers 

81 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

make  more  than  the  feeblest  attempts  at  classifica- 
tion. Every  country  school  should  be  classified, 
and  its  classification  should  be  the  best  that  exist- 
ing conditions  will  allow.  Proper  efforts  in  this 
direction  may  be  made  to  serve  as  an  antidote  for 
irregular  attendance  and  other  existing  evils.  The 
starting  point  is  the  adoption  of  a  course  of  study,  a 
matter  we  shall  consider  later.  This  becomes  the 
guide  in  classification.  In  no  case  should  there  be  in 
a  country  school  more  than  one  grade  for  each  year 
of  the  course  of  study,  and  often  in  practice  there 
will  be  less.  Classes  can  often  be  consolidated  with 
advantage.  Pupils  who  read  well  in  the  third 
reader  may  be  merged  with  the  fourth  reader  class 
with  profit  to  themselves  and  the  school.  Instead 
of  forming  a  new  geography  class  each  year,  or 
whenever  there  are  three  or  four  pupils  ready  to 
take  up  the  subject,  let  these  pupils  push  ahead  in 
other  studies  and  fall  into  the  next  class  in  geog- 
raphy when  the  time  comes  to  start  it;  then  ease 
up  a  little  all  around  in  the  other  studies  and  push 
the  geography  for  a  time.  By  thought  fulness  and 
skillful  management  of  this  kind,  the  number  of 
classes  may  be  kept  at  the  minimum  and  more  and 
better  work  accomplished.  The  classification  would 
not  be  exact  or  close,  but  it  is  not  best  that  it 
should  be.  The  organization  of  any  school  should 
be  sufficiently  flexible  to  admit  of  adjustment 
and  adaptation  to  existing  conditions.  When  exact- 
ness or  niceness  of  organization  conflicts  with  the 

82 


SCHOOL  ORGANIZATION. 

highest  good  of  the  pupils,  the  organization  should 
yield.  Yet  all  this  is  consistent  with  a  steady 
holding  of  the  main  course.  A  ship-master  often 
finds  it  necessary  to  tack  this  way  and  that  way, 
yet  he  steadily  holds  the  main  course  and  reaches 
his  destination. 

Very  gratifying  progress  has  been  made  in  the 
past  few  years  in  grading  country  schools  and  sys- 
tematizing their  work.  The  schools  in  many  town- 
ships are  successfully  pursuing  a  carefully  devised 
course  of  study,  and  granting  certificates  of  gradua- 
tion to  those  who  complete  it.  Enough  has  been 
done  in  this  direction  to  demonstrate  the  desirable- 
ness and  practicability  of  classification  and  system 
in  these  schools,  and  the  present  indications  are 
that  in  a  short  time  the  shiftless,  slipshod  ways 
heretofore  generally  prevalent  will  be  relegated 
entirely  to  sleepy  hollow. 

The  preparation  of  the  best  course  of  instruc- 
tion for  any  system  of  schools  is  an  undertaking  at 
once  important  and  difficult.  Its  importance  is 
apparent;  its  difficulty  becomes  more  and  more 
apparent  as  the  subject  is  studied.  The  man  that 
presumes  to  say  with  positiveness  that  this  or  that 
course  of  instruction  is  absolutely  best  in  all  respects 
for  a  school  or  a  system  of  schools  gives  good 
ground  for  the  suspicion  that  he  has  more  to  learn. 
There  is  room  for  honest  difference  of  opinion 
among  the  wisest. 

The  ability  to  construct  a  judicious  course  of 

83 


THE  TEACHKR  AND  HIS  WORK. 

study  implies  at  least  three  things:  i.  A  right 
understanding  of  the  ends  of  education.  2.  A  clear 
and  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  nature  and 
capabilities  of  the  being  to  be  educated.  3.  A 
correct  estimate  of  the  educative  value  of  the  vari- 
ous branches  of  knowledge.  Probably  the  best 
that  anyone  can  do  is  to  adapt  to  existing  condi- 
tions, by  his  own  thought  and  experience,  the  con- 
clusions of  the  wisest  and  best  who  have  studied 
the  problem. 

These  and  other  questions,  immediately  con- 
front one  who  undertakes,  in  an  intelligent  way,  to 
prepare  a  school  course  of  study:  What  studies 
shall  be  included?  In  what  order  shall  they  be 
taken  up?  How  many  and  what  subjects  shall 
be  prescribed  for  simultaneous  study  ?  How  much 
time  shall  be  given  to  each?  What  portion  of 
each  subject  shall  be  assigned  to  each  grade  or  to 
each  period  of  time  ? 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  discuss  all  these  ques- 
tions in  detail.  I  shall  confine  my  observations 
mainly  to  the  first,  with  some  attention  to  one  or 
two  phases  of  some  of  the  others. 

The  experience,  thought,  and  observation  of 
more  than  forty  years  devoted  to  public  school  work 
have  led  me  to  the  conclusion  that  more  is  attempted 
and  less  of  real  value  accomplished  in  our  ele- 
mentary schools  than  comports  with  the  highest 
well-being  of  the  pupils.  There  is  a  tendency  to 
display  of  ostentatious  learning  rather  than  to  solid 

84 


SCHOOL  ORGANIZATION. 

attainment  in  practical  knowledge  and  useful  culture. 
There  is  inflation  in  education  as  well  as  in  finance. 

The  essentials,  the  warp  and  woof  of  an  ele- 
mentary course  of  instruction  for  the  common 
schools  of  this  country  seem  to  me  to  include  mainly 
these  three:  English,  penmanship,  and  arithmetic. 
A  youth  well  grounded  in  these  is  better  prepared 
for  life  than  one  who  has  a  smattering  of  many 
sciences  without  proficiency  in  these  essentials.  To 
these  should  be  added,  under  favoring  conditions, 
the  less  essential,  but  yet  important  branches  of 
vocal  music,  drawing,  and  as  much  geography  and 
American  history  as  may  be  gained  from  an  ordi- 
nary first  book  on  these  subjects.  Time  spent  in 
memorizing  the  details  of  geography  and  history  is 
waste,  and  might  be  used  to  greater  profit. 

The  study  and  practice  of  mother  tongue  must 
of  necessity  occupy  a  large  share  of  time  and  atten- 
tion in  elementary  schools,  inasmuch  as  the  pupil's 
success  at  every  stage  depends  upon  his  mastery  of 
the  vernacular.  My  observation  is  that  more  pupils 
fail  in  the  high  school  because  of  defective  training 
in  English  than  from  all  other  causes.  An  intelli- 
gent comprehension  of  ordinary  English  and  tol- 
erable accuracy  and  facility  in  its  use  should  con- 
stitute the  chief  corner  stone  of  our  American 
education.  Language  training  in  common  schools 
should  include  — 

i.  Reading.  Intelligent  and  intelligible  reading 
is  fundamental.  If  after  attending  school  seven  or 

85 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

eight  years  pupils  of  average  natural  ability  are 
found  unable  to  read  at  sight,  fluently  and  with 
expression  indicating  a  good  grasp  of  the  thought, 
any  piece  of  ordinary  English  composition,  the 
training  is  seriously  at  fault.  No  part  of  school 
work  is  more  important  than  this,  and  none  makes 
greater  demand  for  skill  and  painstaking  on  the 
part  of  the  teacher;  but  these  are  just  the  qualities 
which  teachers  should  have.  Nor  should  pupils 
leave  the  common  school  without  a  taste  for  good 
reading  and  some  knowledge  of  what  is  worth 
reading.  This  is  a  large  and  rich  field  which  well 
repays  cultivation.  It  reaches  into  the  whole  range 
of  literature  and  literary  study. 

2.  By  practice  in  written  spelling,  and  by  the 
fixed  habit  of  attention  to  the  correct  spelling  of  all 
the  words  he  uses,  the  pupil  should  be  able,  at  the 
end  of  this  common  school  course,  to  write  a  letter 
or  other  composition  without  misspelling  words  in 
common  use. 

3.  Language  lessons.      Every   school  exercise 
should  be  a  language  lesson.     The  pupil's  attention 
should  be  strongly  and  persistently   directed   and 
held  at  every  point  to  the  right  use  of  words  and 
the  right  construction  of  sentences.     Systematic, 
daily  exercises  in  sentence-building,  letter-writing, 
business  forms,  and  oral  and  written  descriptions 
should   be  continued  throughout  the  course,  with 
a  view  to  gaining  a  practical  knowledge  and  use  of 
the   language.     The    time   usually   spent   in   city 

86 


SCHOOL   ORGANIZATION. 

grammar  schools,  and  in  many  country  schools,  in 
memorizing  grammatical  definitions,  rules,  notes, 
and  exceptions,  and  in  analyzing  and  parsing 
knotty  sentences,  could  be  far  more  profitably  spent 
as  above  indicated.  Grammar,  as  a  science,  except 
some  of  its  simpler  elements,  should  not  be  studied 
until  the  pupils  are  more  mature  and  have  gained 
by  use  such  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  language 
as  will  enable  them  to  pursue  the  study  with  satis- 
faction and  profit. 

As  to  penmanship,  all  pupils  who  continue  in 
school  long  enough  to  complete  such  an  elementary 
course  as  that  here  contemplated,  can  and  should 
acquire  the  ability  to  write  legibly  and  neatly.  Bad 
writing  is  not  a  sign  of  greatness,  though  some 
great  men  have  been  miserable  writers. 

In  arithmetic,  the  first  and  chief  aim  should 
be  to  secure  accuracy  and  rapidity  in  the  perform- 
ance of  the  fundamental  operations.  Accurate  and 
rapid  addition,  subtraction,  multiplication,  and  di- 
vision are  attainments  likely  to  be  of  more  practical 
value  to  the  majority  of  pupils  than  all  else  in 
arithmetic;  and  much  higher  attainment  in  this 
direction  is  practicable  than  that  usually  reached. 
To  this  let  there  be  added  a  thorough  and  practical 
knowledge  of  common  and  decimal  fractions,  de- 
nominate numbers,  mensuration  of  ordinary  sur- 
faces and  solids,  and  the  more  common  applications 
of  percentage,  and  the  more  abstruse  and  difficult 
parts  of  the  subject  may,  without  loss,  be  omitted 

87 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

entirely,  or  reserved  for  study  after  pupils  have 
pursued  an  elementary  course  in  algebra  and 
geometry. 

The  course  of  instruction  for  elementary  schools 
here  briefly  outlined  would,  if  followed,  consider- 
ably reduce  what  is  at  present  attempted  in  most 
schools;  but  I  am  convinced  that  the  greater  thor- 
oughness and  accuracy  contemplated  would  be  more 
than  an  equivalent  for  the  reduction,  constituting  a 
better  outfit  in  life  for  those  who  go  no  farther,  as 
well  as  a  better  preparation  for  those  who  are  to 
pursue  a  higher  course  of  study  in  higher  institu- 
tions of  learning. 

Before  leaving  this  part  of  the  subject  I  wish  to 
add  that  there  should  be  in  every  elementary  school 
a  place  on  the  program  for  general  exercises,  which 
may  include  oral  observation  lessons,  talks  on  com- 
mon things,  or,  as  the  modern  and  more  high- 
sounding  phrase  is,  nature  study.  The  supply 
of  material  for  such  purposes  is  unlimited;  the  only 
difficulty  lies  in  choosing.  And  here,  as  always  in 
school  work,  the  value  depends  on  the  wisdom  and ' 
skill  of  the  teacher. 

Teachers  and  school  supervisors  in  this  day  need 
to  be  reminded  that  it  is  neither  profitable  nor  pos- 
sible to  teach  in  the  common  schools  all  that  is 
desirable  to  know.  The  educational  problem  is  one 
of  selection,  and  method,  and  spirit. 


88 


SCHOOL   ORGANIZATION. 

The  course  of  study  for  the  high-school  depart- 
ment of  a  system  of  schools  must  of  necessity  vary 
with  conditions.  The  high  school  is  comparatively 
a  recent  growth,  and  its  place  and  function  in  our 
educational  system  is  not  yet  very  clearly  defined. 
It  arose  in  answer  to  a  demand  in  our  modern 
society  for  something  more  in  the  education  of  the 
masses  than  the  barest  rudiments  of  knowledge. 
In  many  instances  it  has  attempted  but  little  besides 
instruction  in  what  are  known  as  the  common 
branches;  while  in  other  cases  it  has  been  expanded 
into  a  miniature  college  and  made  to  appear  suf- 
ficient for  the  complete  education  of  youth.  It  has 
not,  as  a  general  rule,  been  organized  and  conducted 
with  reference  to  any  higher  course  of  training;  so 
that  those  seeking  a  liberal  education  have  generally 
found  it  necessary  to  leave  the  high  school  and 
resort  to  the  special  preparatory  school  or  to  private 
tuition  in  order  to  make  preparation  for  entering 
college. 

The  high  school  is  likely  to  remain  an  important 
feature  of  our  public  school  system;  but  the  time 
has  come  for  it  to  find  its  appropriate  field  and 
confine  itself  to  it,  according  to  its  means  and 
opportunities,  that  it  may  furnish  the  best  of  what 
it  undertakes  to  furnish.  It  should  be  adapted  to 
its  own  community  —  to  the  needs  of  the  life 
about  it. 

There  is  no  good  reason  why  there  should  not 
be  such  an  adjustment  and  adaptation  of  the  high 

89 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

school  and  the  college  to  each  other  that  the  in- 
struction and  training  of  the  high  school  may  be 
alike  serviceable  as  preparation  for  college  and  for 
the  work  of  life.  It  will  not  be  practicable  in  all 
cases  for  the  high  school  to  give  its  students  com- 
plete preparation  for  college;  but  its  work,  as  far  as 
it  goes,  should  be  along  right  lines  and  should  be  so 
well  done  as  not  to  require  doing  again. 

The  length  of  the  high  school  course  of  study  is 
not  a  fixed  quantity.  In  the  township  or  the  vil- 
lage high  school,  two  years  may  be  all  that  existing 
conditions  will  warrant;  in  other  cases  three  years 
may  be  best.  The  fully  equipped  city  high  school 
should  have  a  course  of  four  years.  Such  a  course 
should  consist  mainly  of  the  following  four  lines  of 
study: 

1.  Language  and  literature,  including  the  read- 
ing and  study  of  good  English  authors,  English 
grammar  and  composition  in  the  ratio  of  three 
lessons  in  grammar  and  one  in  composition,  Eng- 
lish   orthography   and    derivation,   and    sufficient 
Latin  for  college  entrance. 

2.  Mathematics,  including  advanced  arithmetic, 
elementary  algebra,  and  plane  geometry. 

3.  Natural  science,  including  human  physiology, 
botany,  zoology,  physical  geography,  and  the  ele- 
ments of  physics  and  chemistry. 

4.  General  history  and  the   Constitution  and 
government  of  the  United  States. 


90 


SCHOOL,   ORGANIZATION. 

There  are  other  subjects  for  which  claim  is 
made  and  which  find  place  in  the  course  of  study  of 
many  high  schools;  but  the  high  school  cannot 
teach  well  everything  that  is  desirable  to  know. 
The  question  here  also  becomes  one  of  choice  and 
selection.  A  few  subjects  dealt  with  in  a  somewhat 
masterly  way,  is  clearly  better  than  a  mere  smatter 
of  many  subjects. 

If  any  one  of  the  above  four  lines  of  study  is  to 
have  pre-eminence  it  should  be  the  first.  Nothing 
in  general  education  is  of  greater  value  than  in- 
struction and  training  in  language,  and  specially 
the  mother  tongue.  English  should  be  the  major 
study  for  all  English-speaking  pupils.  Even  in  our 
higher  institutions  of  learning,  the  study  and  prac- 
tice of  English  is  gaining  more  and  more  the  place 
of  pre-eminence.  But  the  time  has  come  for  the  ex- 
ercise of  greater  common  sense  in  the  matter  of  edu- 
cation. Nothing  could  be  more  irrational  than  our 
stereotyped  methodsof  training  in  our  own  language. 
To  beget  in  our  pupils  the  ability  to  speak  and  write 
good  English,  we  consign  them  to  weary  months 
and  years  of  memorizing  grammatical  definitions, 
rules,  notes  and  exceptions,  to  be  applied  in  the 
analysis  and  parsing  of  knotty  sentences;  and  find- 
ing them  still  unable  to  write  a  passable  letter  or 
composition,  we  compel  them  to  memorize  dreary 
pages  of  definitions  and  rules  concerning  rhetorical 
figures,  invention,  style,  taste,  etc.,  with  results 
about  the  same  as  before. 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

A  child  learns  to  walk  by  walking;  lie  learns  to 
skate,  not  by  a  profound  study  of  the  laws  of  gravi- 
tation and  motion,  but  by  buckling  on  his  skates 
and  striking  out  upon  the  ice.  He  displays  awk- 
wardness at  first,  and  perhaps  tumbles  a  few  times, 
but  he  is  soon  able  to  perform  with  ease  and  grace 
evolutions  which  the  most  profound  scientist  un- 
practiced  would  not  attempt.  Thus  it  is  that  from 
infancy  to  manhood  the  child  is  constantly  learning 
to  do  with  ease  and  skill  things  at  first  difficult 
which  can  be  learned  only  by  practice.  The  very 
important  attainment  of  skill  in  the  use  of  language 
is  no  exception.  Right  practice  in  speaking  and 
writing  is  the  only  rational  way  of  acquiring  a  good 
use  of  English.  A  closer  and  more  intelligent  fol- 
lowing of  nature's  methods  of  child  training  would 
greatly  enhance  the  efficiency  and  usefulness  of  the 
schools. 

The  daily  program  is  an  important  item  in 
school  organization.  Every  school  should  have 
a  carefully  prepared  time-table,  in  which  every 
exercise  should  have  its  appropriate  time  and  place. 
It  should  include  study  as  well  as  recitation,  so  that 
teacher  and  pupils  may  know  what  each  pupil 
should  be  doing  at  any  given  hour  of  the  day.  The 
program  should  stand  on  the  blackboard  in  sight  of 
the  school,  or  be  neatly  and  plainly  written  on 
paper  and  posted  in  a  conspicuous  place  in  the 
school  room. 


92 


SCHOOL  ORGANIZATION. 

To  make  a  good  program  requires  full  knowledge 
and  due  appreciation  of  all  the  work  of  the  school, 
that  the  exercises  may  come  in  right  order  and 
each  receive  its  proper  share  of  time  and  attention. 
For  this  reason  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  prepare 
a  general  program  that  would  work  well  in  any 
particular  school.  A  suit  of  clothes  made  to  order 
after  careful  measurement  usually  fits  better  than 
one  ready-made.  All  the  conditions  and  surround- 
ings of  a  school  must  be  well  considered  in  prepar- 
ing its  time-table.  The  average  country  school 
presents  many  difficulties,  and  so  does  the  large 
city  grammar  school,  where  two  or  more  teachers 
work  together  in  the  same  school. 

Some  principles  of  general  application  may  be 
stated: 

1.  Lessons  which  require  the  greatest  mental 
effort  should  have  a  place  early  in  the  session,  fore- 
noon or  afternoon,  when  the  pupils  are  fresh  and 
vigorous.     Such  studies  as  arithmetic  and  grammar 
should  come  early.    Such  exercises  as  spelling,  writ- 
ing, and  drawing  are  appropriate  for  the  later  periods. 

2.  Studies  should  be  so  arranged  as  to  afford  as 
much  variety  as  possible.     A  change  of  work  is 
rest.     Monotony  is  irksome  and  wearing.     It  is  not 
best  for  any  class  to  have  two  consecutive  recita- 
tions.    If  mental  and  written  arithmetic  both  have 
a  place  on  the  program  as  separate  and  distinct 
exercises,  it  is  better  that  they  come  in  different 
parts  of  the  day;  and  so  of  writing  and  drawing. 


93 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

3.  In  country  schools  the  younger  pupils  should 
have  shorter  periods  and  recite  oftener  than  older 
pupils.     Ten  minutes  may  be  long  enough  for  an 
exercise  with   the  youngest  classes,  while  thirty 
minutes  may  not  be  too  long  for  some  of  the  older 
ones. 

4.  Writing  and  drawing  require  steadiness  of 
nerve,  and  should  not  be  placed  immediately  after 
recess  or  the  opening  of  school,  nor  be  immediately 
preceded  by  vigorous  gymnastic  exercises. 

5.  After  a  program  has  been  tried,  it  may  be 
found  necessary  to  modify  it.     Bearings  may  need 
to  be  slackened  in  one  place  and  tightened  in  an- 
other, until  every  part  runs  smoothly  and  the  whole 
machinery  performs  its  work  satisfactorily.     But 
frequent  changes  of  program  are  to  be  avoided. 
Every  change  should  be  well  considered  before  it  is 
made. 

6.  The  program  should  be  followed.     One  exer- 
cise should  not  be  allowed  to  trespass  upon  the  time 
of  another.     Occasional  variation   from   this  rule 
may  be  allowable  under  some  conditions,   but  it 
should  be  the  exception.     The  rule  should  be  for 
each  class  to  have  its  own  time  and  no  more.     Any 
studying  or  reciting  at  recess  or  after  school  would 
be  a  violation  of  this  rule.     The  periods  of  relaxa- 
tion should  be  as  scrupulously   observed  as  any 
other.     The  evil  resulting  from  the  detention  of 
pupils  at  recess  or  after  school  for  lessons  over- 
balances the  good.     Nothing  is  more  obligatory 


94 


SCHOOL  ORGANIZATION. 

upon  the  teacher  than  to  see  that  every  duty  is  per- 
formed in  its  time.  Every  minute  of  school  time 
should  be  used  in  study,  in  recitation,  in  some 
general  exercise,  or  in  needed  relaxation.  The 
teacher  should  permit  no  dawdling  or  trifling  either 
in  himself  or  in  his  pupils. 

The  following  program  was  prepared  by  a  coun- 
try teacher  for  use  in  his  school,  which  contained 
five  grades: 

8:3o  to  8:50 — Music  lesson  for  entire  school. 

8:50  to  9:05 — Fifth  reader,  A  grade. 

9:05  to  9:20 — Fourth  reader,  B  grade. 

9:20  to  9:35 — Primer  class,  B  grade. 

9:50  to  10:00 — Second  reader,  D  grade. 
10:00  to  10:12 — Third  reader,  C  grade. 
10:12  to  10:30 — Writing,  entire  school. 
10:30  to  10:40 — Recess. 
10:40  to  10:55 — Arithmetic,  A  grade. 
10:55  to  1 1  :io— Arithmetic,  B  and  C  grades. 
11:10  to  11:30 — Number  lesson,  D  and  B  grades. 
1 1 130  to  ii  :45 — Spelling,  A  and  B  grades. 
11:45  to  12:00 — Spelling,  C  grade. 
12:00  to  1:00 — Noon  recess. 

i  :oo  to  i  :2o — Grammar,  A  and  B  grades. 

1:20  to  1:35 — Language  lesson,  C  and  D  grades. 

1:35  to  2:00— Primer  and  First  reader,  B  grade. 

2:00  to  2:20 — Physiology  or  history,  A  and  B  grades. 

2 :2o  to  2 130 — Recess. 

2 130  to  3  :oo — Primer  and  First  reader,  B  grade. 

3:00  to  3:20 — Geography,  A  and  B  grades. 

3:20  to  3:40 — Geography,  C  grade. 

3:40  to  3:55 — Second  reader,  D  grade. 

3:55  to  4:00 — Closing  exercises. 

EXPLANATORY  NOTES.— Some  time  is  gained  in  arithmetic  by 
allowing  one  class  to  place  work  on  the  board  while  another  class 
is  reciting. 

History  and  physiology  alternate. 

Writing  is  taught  from  the  blackboard,  the  pupils  using  foolscap 
paper. 

95 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

The  proper  seating  of  a  large  school  is  a  part  of 
the  organization  which  requires  skillful  manage- 
ment as  well  as  good  taste.  It  has  been  said  that 
in  the  seating  of  his  school  a  teacher  exhibits  his 
ideal  of  symmetry  and  fitness.  It  is  proper  to  give 
a  school  a  good  appearance  by  keeping  that  which 
is  unsightly  in  the  back-ground  as  much  as  possible, 
and  placing  in  the  front  that  which  is  pleasing  to 
the  eye,  provided  it  can  be  done  without  wounding 
the  feelings  of  the  homely  or  ill-clad,  or  exciting 
the  vanity  of  the  good  looking  or  well  dressed. 
Perhaps  better  not  be  done  at  all  if  it  cannot  be 
done  without  revealing  its  purpose. 

Size,  sex,  grade,  disposition  and  habits  of  pupils 
should  each  have  some  weight  in  considering  the 
seating  of  a  school. 

When  other  considerations  do  not  interfere, 
pupils  should  sit  in  the  order  of  size,  beginning  at 
the  rear  with  the  largest. 

It  was  once  the  custom  to  seat  the  girls  on  one 
side  of  the  room  and  the  boys  on  the  other  side. 
Then  it  was  that  the  teacher  sometimes  inflicted 
capital  punishment  on  a  troublesome  boy  by  making 
him  sit  among  the  girls.  The  custom  now  gen- 
erally prevails  of  seating  without  much  reference  to 
sex,  and  it  is  better  so. 

In  a  city  school  of  two  grades  it  is  a  good  plan 
to  alternate  by  grades.  Suppose  the  grades  are  A 
and  B.  In  the  first  row  of  seats  place  A  grade 
pupils  in  the  seats  with  odd  numbers  and  B  grade 


SCHOOL   ORGANIZATION, 

pupils  in  the  seats  with  even  numbers.  Reverse 
this  in  the  next  row,  and  so  on.  This  gives  to 
each  pupil  the  greatest  degree  of  isolation.  When 
one  grade  is  called  out  to  recite,  the  pupils  of  the 
other  grade  are  left  distributed  over  the  room  in 
alternate  seats.  The  plan  conduces  to  symmetry 
and  good  appearance  as  well  as  to  good  order. 

But  all  these  plans  are  more  or  less  liable  to 
interruption  by  the  habits  and  tendencies  of  the 
pupils.  A  pupil  lacking  in  self-control  may  be 
found  in  a  bad  neighborhood,  and  it  may  become 
necessary  to  move  him  or  some  of  his  neighbors. 
And  this,  by  the  way,  is  a  prerogative  which  the 
teacher  should  always  maintain.  A  pupil's  claim 
to  a  particular  seat  because  he  occupied  it  last  term, 
or  any  other  term,  should  not  be  conceded  for  a 
moment.  Every  pupil  should  be  entirely  subject 
to  the  direction  of  the  teacher  in  this  as  in  all  other 
matters  pertaining  to  the  school. 


A  school,  as  well  as  an  army,  needs  a  system  of 
tactics,  by  which  its  movements  may  be  directed 
and  its  work  carried  on.  The  system  should  be 
as  simple  as  possible,  consistent  with  good  order  and 
efficiency.  All  signals  and  movements  for  mere 
display  or  show  should  be  discarded.  The  import- 
ant thing  is  the  execution  of  all  necessary  movements 
without  waste  of  time  and  without  unnecessary 
confusion  or  noise. 


97 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

Whether  it  is  best,  in  assembling  and  dismissing, 
to  march  in  and  march  out  in  military  order  is  a 
question  with  two  sides.  It  is  more  satisfactory  to 
most  teachers,  and  in  some  large  city  schools  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  secure  proper  order  in  any 
other  way.  Schools  well  trained  in  this  way  are 
handled  more  easily  and  with  less  confusion,  and 
there  is  greater  safety  in  case  of  fire.  But  experi- 
ence and  observation  have  led  me  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  discipline  which  allows  larger  liberty  and 
yet  prevents  rude  and  boisterous  conduct,  is  of  a 
higher  order  and  exerts  a  more  wholesome  influ- 
ence. In  watching  the  marching  and  counter- 
marching of  children  in  some  large  schools,  I  have 
been  reminded  of  the  lock-step  march  sometimes 
witnessed  in  state  prisons.  There  is  always  some- 
thing repulsive  about  it.  Nevertheless,  this  is  to 
be  said:  Almost  any  system  of  tactics  that  secures 
discipline  and  order  is  preferable  to  the  disorder  and 
uproar  that  sometimes  prevail  in  schools. 

The  signals  used  in  school  to  secure  the  move- 
ment of  classes  are  of  some  importance.  Some 
teachers  use  mainly  signals  addressed  to  the  eye; 
others  address  the  ear  exclusively.  The  things 
of  most  importance  are  that  the  signals  be  given  in 
a  quiet,  self-possessed  manner,  and  that  they  be 
implicitly  and  promptly  obeyed.  Effort  to  these 
ends  should  never  be  relaxed  until  it  succeeds. 

I  have  come  to  think  that  a  call-bell  on  a  teach- 
er's desk  is  a  useless  appliance.  It  sometimes 


SCHOOL  ORGANIZATION. 

causes  more  disorder  than  it  prevents.  For  moving 
classes  there  are  no  better  signals  than  the  numerals, 
one,  two,  three,  spoken  by  the  teacher  in  a  soft 
voice — one,  ready;  two,  rise;  three >  pass.  The  im- 
portant thing,  I  repeat,  is  that  every  signal  be 
implicitly  and  promptly  obeyed. 

Concerning  all  the  details  of  school  organization, 
it  should  be  remembered  that  they  are  only  means 
to  an  end.  The  main  work  of  the  school  should 
never  be  subordinated  to  any  ideal  of  system  or 
mechanism. 


99 


Recitation  and  Study. 


1  *  The  teacher  should  study  carefully  the  art  of  teaching 

well  at  the  recitation It  is  there  his 

mind  comes  specially  in  contact  with  his  pupils'  minds,  and 
there  that  he  lays  in  them,  for  good  or  for  evil,  the  founda- 
tions of  their  mental  habits. " — Page. 


VI. 
RECITATION  AND  STUDY. 

THE  term  recitation  is  here  used  in  its  broad 
sense  to  imply  all  those  class  exercises  in  school 
which  are  designed  for  instruction,  for  testing,  for 
training,  or  for  any  or  all  of  these  combined. 

The  work  of  the  school  culminates  in  the  recita- 
tion. It  is  here  that  the  teacher  teaches.  The 
school  is  a  success  or  a  failure  according  to  the 
character  of  its  recitations.  George  Rowland,  late 
superintendent  of  the  Chicago  schools,  does  not  ex- 
aggerate the  importance  of  the  recitation  when  he 
says  : 

11  Whether  we  regard  the  prime  purpose  of  the 
school  as  mental  or  moral  instruction  and  discipline, 
the  formation  of  character,  or  the  manual  skill  that 
shall  aid  in  securing  a  comfortable  livelihood,  the 
recitation  is  that  about  which  centers  all  the  activi- 
ties of  school  life,  giving  it  success  or  stamping  it 
with  failure. 

1 '  The  personal  influence  of  the  teacher  is  of  the 
first  importance;  the  power  to  control  and  direct 
invaluable  ;  the  magnetism  which  shall  inspire  and 
incite  to  earnest,  loving  effort,  a  necessity  to  the 
accomplished,  successful  teacher ;  but  all  of  these 
qualifications  find  full  scope  in  the  recitation,  and 


103 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

without  this  end  they  have  little  cause  or  reason 
to  be. 

' '  The  recitation  is  the  controlling  influence, 
determining  the  length  and  character  of  the  lessons, 
the  manner  of  their  preparation,  the  conduct  of  the 
pupil,  his  hours  of  study,  his  interest  in  school, 
and  his  regard  for  his  teacher,  and  gives  the  color, 
the  value,  to  all  his  school-days,  his  waking  and  his 
sleeping  hours.  It  is  the  recitation,  with  its  direct 
influences,  which  makes  him  a  trusty  friend  or  a 
hopeless  truant,  a  student  or  a  scamp,  and  which 
will  guide  him  along  the  paths  of  honest  and  suc- 
cessful industry,  or  into  the  by-ways  of  indolence 
and  worthlessness.  Here  he  finds  the  rewards  of 
well-doing  or  condemnation  of  his  negligence,  an 
incitement  to  renewed  endeavor  or  an  excuse  for 
feeble  exertion  and  lax  endeavor. 

11  In  the  recitation,  too,  the  teacher  gives  proof 
of  her  calling,  or  shows  her  unfitness  for  her  posi- 
tion. In  the  recitation  is  concentrated  the  devo- 
tion, the  thought,  the  life  of  the  teacher,  and 
the  work,  the  purpose,  the  zeal,  the  perform- 
ance of  the  pupil.  Here  is  displayed  the  life  of  the 
school,  and  here  is  decided  whether  the  school  shall 
be  a  means  of  growth  and  development,  or  a  source 
of  unworthy  motive,  of  false  aims  and  ignoble 
character. ' ' 

The  character  of  the  recitation  will  necessarily 
vary  with  the  subject,  the  age  and  attainments  of 
the  pupils,  and  perhaps  other  conditions.  The 


104 


RECITATION  AND  STUDY. 

recitation  of  first  year  pupils  in  a  primary  school 
would  differ  in  many  particulars  from  the  recitation 
of  a  high -school  class  in  chemistry  or  geometry. 
The  subject  will  here  be  considered  in  a  general 
way,  and  not  in  its  application  to  each  and  every 
grade  of  pupils. 

Some  things  worthy  of  mention  necessarily 
precede  and  attend  the  recitation.  Lessons  must  be 
assigned.  And  this  is  a  most  important  matter, 
demanding  the  teacher's  most  thoughtful  attention. 
The  want  of  discriminating  attention  to  the  char- 
acter and  amount  of  work  assigned  constitutes  one 
of  the  elements  of  weakness  and  failure  in  a  good 
many  schools.  It  is  too  often  left  to  the  last  mo- 
ment before  the  dismissal  of  the  class,  and  then  dis- 
posed of  hurriedly  and  without  due  consideration, 
resulting  in  many  cases  in  a  want  of  adaptation  to 
the  circumstances  and  needs  of  the  class,  and  conse- 
quent discouragement  and  loss  of  life  and  interest 
on  the  part  of  the  pupils.  The  teacher  should 
make  a  careful  study  of  the  capacities  and  needs,  as 
well  as  the  prevailing  habits  and  tendencies  of  his 
class,  and  adapt  the  lessons  accordingly.  He 
should  never  forget  that  in  the  tasks  he  assigns  his 
pupils  he  sets  up  for  them  a  standard  of  effort  and 
attainment — an  all-important  matter. 

In  connection  with  the  assignment  of  lessons, 
there  is  need  to  anticipate  the  difficulties  to  be  met 
and  to  prepare  the  pupils  for  meeting  them.  To  do 
this  well  requires  thoughtfulness  and  skill.  The 


105 


TEACHKR  AND  HIS  WORK. 

wise  teacher  will  not  remove  or  solve  the  difficulties, 
but  will  indicate  the  right  point  of  attack  and  incite 
the  pupils  to  attack  vigorously  and  persistently. 
Perhaps  in  nothing  else  is  the  real  teaching  power 
of  the  teacher  more  manifest  than  in  his  manage- 
ment of  this  matter. 

Pupils  must  be  taught  how  to  study  and  trained 
into  right  habits  of  study.  Studying  is  the  chief  work 
of  the  pupil  in  school,  and  the  best  intellectual  ac- 
complishment the  schoolcan  give  him  is  right 
habits  of  study.  In  these  latter  days  too  much  reli- 
ance is  placed  on  oral  teaching  to  the  neglect  of 
study.  The  great  aim  seems  to  be  to  make  every- 
thing easy  and  pleasant  for  the  pupils,  but  the 
results  in  power  and  skill  are  meager.  My  observa- 
tion is  that  large  numbers  of  pupils  reach,  yes,  and 
leave,  the  high  school  without  well  formed  habits 
of  study.  They  manifest  very  little  power  to  in- 
vestigate a  subject,  or  to  gain  knowledge  from  the 
printed  page  by  independent  effort. 

Much  may  be  done  in  the  recitation  to  give  di- 
rection and  character  to  the  study  of  the  pupils ; 
but  the  teacher  should  observe  closely  the  habits 
and  tendencies  of  each  pupil,  find  out  his  difficulties 
and  hindrances,  and  by  suggestion,  admonition,  en- 
couragement— by  any  and  every  means,  guide  and 
incite  each  to  his  best  effort.  No  teacher  can  do 
more  than  this  ;  none  should  be  content  to  do  less. 
Personal  interviews  with  individual  pupils,  in  the 
spirit  of  friendly  helpfulness,  will  often  avail  much. 

1 06 


RECITATION  AND  STUDY. 

I  have  sometimes  found  it  profitable  to  give  my 
pupils  an  example  of  study.  Seated  in  front  of  the 
class,  I  have  often  taken  up  the  lesson  in  order, 
reading  and  repeating  aloud  until  I  had  learned  the 
lesson  as  I  wished  the  pupils  to  learn  it. 

Here  are  some  rules  for  study  worth  keeping  in 
mind  : 

1 .  Study  with  interest.     The  listless  conning  of 
lessons  as  mere  tasks  is  without  much  profit,  and  is 
doubtless  often  positively  injurious.     The  interest 
of  the  pupil  depends  largely  upon  the  teacher,  but 
it  should  come  from  some  source.     There  should  be 
a  sparkle  in  the  eye  and  a  glow  of  interest  on  the 
countenance. 

2.  Study  systematically.     Study  each  lesson  in 
its  proper  time.     Begin  at  the  right  place  and  pro- 
ceed in  order.     It  is  well  first  to  read  the  whole 
lesson  over  to  get  a  general  view,  then  return  to 
the  beginning,  take  up  each  topic  in  its  order,  and 
master  it. 

3.  Study  with  foxed  attention.    The  degree  of  at- 
tention is  the  measure  of  success.      Fitful  spurts 
and  dashes  avail  but  little.     The  power  to  hold  the 
mind  down  to  the  matter  in  hand  is  an  attainment 
of  great  value.     It  is  the  roadster  that  leans  into 
the  collar  without  flinching  that  moves  the  load. 

4.  Study  to  know  and  remember  rather  than  to 
recite.     Learning  that  filters  through  the  mind  like 
water     through    a   sieve  leaves  small    residuum. 
"Knowledge  is  fixed  in  the  mind  by  repetition  and 

107 


TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

reviews,  by  connecting  its  parts  together  by  natural 
association,  and  by  making  frequent  application 
of  it." 

5.  Study  thoughtfully.     Think  clearly,    vigor- 
ously, independently,  while  you  study,  and  after- 
wards reflect  on  what  you  have  studied.     It    is 
thought  that  moves  the  world.     The  great  thinker 
is  king  among  men. 

6.  Study  with  a  view  to  clear  and  forcible  ex- 
pression.  Study  so  thoroughly,  think  so  completely, 
as  to  be  able  to  state  clearly  and  tersely. 

Every  pupil  should  be  held  to  a  strict  account. 
When  a  lesson  has  been  once  announced,  every 
member  of  the  class  should  know  henceforth  what 
it  is.  No  one  should  be  allowed  to  ask  in 
study  hours  what  the  lesson  is.  Even  the 
pupil  who,  because  of  absence,  may  not  have 
heard  the  lessons  announced,  should  be  expected 
to  learn  about  his  lessons  from  the  teacher 
or  from  some  class-mate  before  the  opening  of 
school.  lyet  this  be  known  and  maintained  as 
"  the  law  of  the  house,"  and  it  will  not  only  save 
much  interruption  and  annoyance ;  it  will  tend  to 
beget  in  the  pupils  habits  of  attention  and  prompt- 
ness. 

Every  pupil  should  also  be  held  to  a  strict  ac- 
count for  the  mastery  of  the  lesson.  Having  seen 
to  it  that  the  task  assigned  is  not  greater  than  may 
be  accomplished  by  reasonable  effort,  the  teacher 

108 


RECITATION  AND  STUDY. 

should  tolerate  no  shirking  or  dodging.  I^et  it  be 
understood  that  it  is  not  an  excuse  for  failure,  but 
the  mastery  of  the  lesson  that  is  expected.  Let  it 
be  understood,  too,  that  the  lesson  must  be  pre- 
pared and  recited  in  its  own  time,  and  not  after 
school  or  at  any  other  time.  I  am  convinced, 
after  many  years  of  observation  and  experience, 
that  more  harm  than  good  comes  of  ' '  keeping  after 
school  "  to  make  up  lessons.  I  have  practiced  it 
enough  to  know  something  about  it.  Where  the 
practice  becomes  chronic  and  shows  no  sign  of 
abatement,  it  should  be  authoritatively  prohibited. 
The  time  and  effort  of  teachers  bestowed  in  this  di- 
rection can  be  turned  to  far  better  account,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  listlessness  and  disgust  it  fosters  in 
pupils. 

The  teacher  should  prepare  himself  thoroughly 
for  the  recitation.  This  is  trite  ;  it  has  been  often 
said,  but  it  needs  to  be  repeated.  The  prepar- 
ation needed  implies  more  than  an  understanding 
of  the  subject-matter  of  the  lesson,  though  even  in 
this  many  come  short.  The  teacher's  knowledge 
should  be  fresh  and  his  interest  should  be  quickened. 
He  should  have  a  well-matured  plan  of  presenting 
the  lesson,  and  his  whole  mind  and  heart  should  be 
aglow  with  fervent  interest  in  the  pupils.  His 
heart  should  go  out  toward  them  with  intense  desire 
for  their  growth  in  intelligence  and  goodness.  His 
interest  in  his  pupils,  in  the  subject,  and  in  his  own 
plans  and  devices,  should  amount  to  an  enthusiasm. 


109 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

And  all  this  is  possibly  to  him  that  willeth.  The 
door  of  attainment  stands  wide  open  ;  whosoever 
will  may  enter. 

Absolute  control  of  the  pupils  is  essential  to  a 
good  recitation.  The  best  methods  in  the  world 
will  fail  in  the  hands  of  a  teacher  who  cannot  con- 
trol his  class.  Good  order  must  be  maintained  and 
attention  must  be  secured  and  held.  There  is  little 
use  in  attempting  to  conduct  recitations  in  school 
until  the  reins  of  government  are  well  in  hand. 

It  is  also  important  that  the  teacher  have  clearly 
in  mind  the  true  ends  of  the  recitation.  There  is 
in  many  schools  too  much  aimless,  slip- shod  lesson- 
saying,  without  purpose  and  with  small  result. 
There  are  several  clearly  defined  objects  to  be  se- 
cured by  class  recitations  which  may  be  considered. 

i.  Stimulation.  The  farmer  prepares  the 
ground  before  he  sows  the  seed  ;  and  there  is  some- 
thing akin  to  this  in  the  work  of  class  instruc- 
tion. The  mind  must  be  in  an  active,  receptive 
state.  A  mind  preoccupied  or  wholly  indifferent  is 
not  ready  for  instruction.  This  phase  of  the  work 
of  preparation  is  mainly  incidental,  growing  largely 
out  of  the  general  character  of  the  recitation  and 
the  tone  and  spirit  of  the  school.  Much  of  it  comes 
from  direct  contact  of  the  teacher's  mind  with  the 
minds  of  the  pupils,  energizing,  inspiring,  stimu- 
lating. An  eminent  and  well-known  Ohio  teacher 
said  a  good  many  years  ago,  ' '  After  all,  this  matter 
of  education  consists  largely  in  stimulation. ' '  It  is 


no 


RECITATION  AND  STUDY. 

unmistakably  the  best  part  of  teaching.  The  value 
of  a  recitation  may  be  gauged  by  the  measure  of  its 
stimulation. 

2.  Examination  and  testing.      The  recitation 
seeks  to  test  the  thoroughness  of  the  pupils'  study. 
It  inquires  as  to  the  faithfulness  with  which  the  pupils 
have  memorized  the  matter  contained  in  the  lesson, 
but  it  does  not  stop  here.     It  reaches  to  the  under- 
standing.    "Do  you    understand?"     "What    do 
you  understand  ?  ' '     ' '  How  do  you  understand  ? ' ' 
"Give  an  example,"    "Put  it  in  other  words," 
"  Make  your  meaning  clear,"  are  some  of  the  ways 
in  which  the  skillful  class  manipulator  probes  the 
understanding  of  his  pupils. 

The  recitation  is  also  a  test  of  power.  Mental 
power  is  of  more  value  than  knowledge,  and  the 
pupil  should  have  frequent  opportunity  of  ex- 
hibiting and  exercising  his  growing  power — power 
to  observe,  power  to  grasp  thought,  power  to 
analyze  and  reason,  power  of  expression.  Various 
school  exercises,  such  as  the  analysis  of  sentences, 
translations,  composition,  and  the  solution  of  prob- 
lems, afford  ample  means  of  exercising  and  testing 
mental  power.  Similarly,  recitations  may  be  made 
tests  of  skill  in  such  arts  as  reading,  writing,  draw- 
ing, computation,  and  the  like. 

3.  Instruction.     This  is  prominent  in  primary 
teaching,  but  it  has  also  a  place  in  more  advanced 
teaching.     The  method  depends  upon  the  subject 
to  be  taught  and  other  conditions.      Sometimes  the 


in 


TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

Socratic  method  may  be  used  almost  exclusively;  at 
other  times  direct  dogmatic  statement  may  be  best. 
The  important  thing  is  the  self-activity  of  the 
learning  mind. 

There  seem  to  be  three  uses  of  instruction  in  the 
ordinary  class  recitation.  (#)  The  wrong  impres- 
sions and  misconceptions  of  pupils  must  needs  be 
corrected.  This  is  usually  best  done  by  skillful 
questioning  and  cross-examination,  leading  the 
pupil  to  discover  and  correct  his  own  errors.  The 
usual  rule  is  to  tell  the  pupil  nothing  directly  which 
he  can  be  led  to  discover  for  himself — a  rule  cor- 
rect in  principle  but  often  overstrained  and  misap- 
plied. (£)  Additions  may  be  made  to  the  pupils' 
stock  of  knowledge  of  the  subject  in  hand.  The 
best  way  of  doing  this  will  be  determined  by  the 
nature  of  the  subject,  the  attainments  and  habits 
of  the  pupils,  and  other  conditions.  Sometimes  it 
may  be  sufficient  to  point  out  the  sources  of  infor- 
mation ;  at  other  times  it  may  be  best  to  give  the 
information  directly.  The  teacher's  chief  concern 
should  be  to  arouse  interest  and  stimulate  effort  as 
much  as  possible,  (c)  New  subjects  must  be  de- 
developed.  This  part  of  the  work  of  instruction 
requires  special  skill.  It  should  be  done  in  such  way 
as  not  to  relieve  the  pupil  from  the  necessity  of 
effort,  but  rather  to  incite  him  to  his  best  effort. 
It  should  not  remove  the  difficulties,  but  indicate 
the  point  of  attack  and  incite  the  pupils  to  attack 
vigorously  and  persistently.  The  teacher's  work 


112 


RECITATION  AND  STUDY. 

in  developing  new  subjects  may  be  described  as  a 
going  before  and  blazing  the  way  over  which  the 
pupils  are  to  construct  for  themselves  an  open 
highway. 

4.  Training.     Some  teachers  who  excel  as  in- 
structors are  poor  drill-masters.      They  are  skilled 
in  the  art  of  putting  things,  but  do  not  appreciate 
the  value  of  practice,  which  makes   perfect.     Of 
course  it  is  neither  practicable  nor  desirable  to  make 
a  complete  separation  between  instruction  and  train- 
ing in  class  exercises.      They  are  mutually  comple- 
mentary.    Each  will  often  disclose  a  necessity  for 
the  other.     But  there  is  a  time  and  place  for  each. 
The  great  stress  laid  upon  the  skillful  presentation 
of  subjects  in  modern  teaching  has  tended  to  the 
disparagement  and  neglect  of  drill.      We  are  apt  to 
forget  that   one  presentation  is  not   sufficient  to 
make  even  the  adult  mind  master  of  any  important 
truth,  and  that  once  doing  is  not  sufficient  to  make 
one  an  adept  in  the  practice  of  any  art.      We  must 
learn  again  and  again  in  order  to  know  thoroughly, 
and  we  must  do  again  and  again  that  which  we 
would  do  skillfully.     There  is  true  wisdom  for  all 
time   in  the  old  Jesuit    maxim,    "  Repetitio  mater 
studiorum" 

5.  Expression.     This  is  at  the  same   time   a 
means  and  an  end.     It  is  the  chief  means  of  attain- 
ing the  other  ends  of  the  recitation,  and  is  itself  a 
most  important  end.     Every  well  conducted  recita- 
tion is  a  training  as  well  as  a  testing  of  the  pupils' 


OF  THE 
1 1  Rif\se*r*  *%(«*- 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

power  of  expression.  A  man  is  well  educated  who 
has  the  power  of  forming  clear  ideas  and  of  giving 
them  accurate  and  elegant  expression.  The  teach- 
er's work  in  teaching  consists  largely  in  leading  pu- 
pils to  see  and  to  tell  what  they  see — in  training 
them  to  think  and  to  express  thought.  And  these 
two  are  very  closely  related.  Max  Muller  says 
language  and  reason  are  only  two  names  or  two 
aspects  of  one  and  the  same  thing.  ' '  No  reason 
without  language,  no  language  without  reason. " 
I  would  say,  rather,  they  sustain  to  each  other  the 
relation  of  body  and  spirit.  Language  is  embodied 
thought,  and  in  our  present  state  we  know  as  little 
about  thought  without  language  as  we  know  about 
soul  without  body.  At  all  events,  thought  and 
language  are  interdependent.  Clear  thinking 
begets  clearness  and  elegance  of  speech,  and  clear 
and  forcible  language  in  turn  tend  to  clearness  and 
completeness  of  thought.  Hence,  expression  is  a 
matter  of  paramount  importance  in  the  recitation. 

Good  utterance,  good  articulation,  in  the  reci- 
tation, is  worth  all  the  effort  it  may  cost  to  secure 
it.  It  is  good  for  its  own  sake,  and  it  is  good  in  its 
tendency.  Clear  enunciation  and  clear  thought  go 
together,  as  do  slovenly  utterance  and  muddiness 
of  thought. 

All  important  principles,  definitions  and  rules 
which  are  worth  learning  at  all  should  be  memo- 
rized verbatim,  and  repeated  until  they  become  as 
familiar  as  the  multiplication  table.  This  has  more 


114 


RECITATION  AND  STUDY. 

than  a  double  value.  Besides  the  knowledge  and 
mental  discipline  gained,  it  has  full  value  in  the 
familiarity  secured  with  the  best  forms  of  expres- 
sion. The  memorizing  of  good  English  for  pur- 
poses of  language  culture  is  not  generally  esteemed 
as  it  deserves. 

Errors  of  speech  in  the  recitation  should  be 
assiduously  corrected  without  diverting  attention 
unduly  from  the  subject  in  hand.  It  is  usually 
sufficient,  when  an  error  is  made,  for  the  teacher  to 
speak  the  correct  form,  it  being  understood  that  the 
pupil  must  at  once  make  the  correction  and  proceed 
without  further  interruption. 

It  should  be  the  teacher's  constant  aim  to  keep 
his  pupils  up  to  their  best  endeavor  in  acquiring  ac- 
curacy and  facility  in  the  use  of  language.  He  can 
have  no  truer  measure  of  their  real  progress.  The 
first  need  is  a  high  ideal  on  the  part  of  the  teacher. 
L,et  him  reflect  much  on  the  possibilities  in  this  di- 
rection, and  let  the  clear  and  forcible  expression  of 
thought  be  ever  before  his  mind  as  a  fundamental 
object  of  the  recitation. 

Some  of  the  more  common  methods  of  recitation 
deserve  to  be  noticed.  Oral  lessons  are  specially 
adapted  to  younger  pupils  and  partake  more  or  less 
of  the  nature  of  conversation,  tending  in  varying 
degree  to  secure  the  ends  of  the  recitation  already 
named.  At  the  beginning  of  the  child's  school  life 
the  teacher  is  at  the  maximum,  but  soon  becomes  a 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

diminishing  quantity.  As  the  child  advances  the 
teacher  recedes.  Probably  no  school  exercises 
require  greater  judgment  and  skill  than  the  oral  les- 
sons in  the  first  years  of  school  life.  The  best  oral 
lessons  are  those  that  may  soonest  be  dispensed  with 
because  of  the  ability  they  give  the  pupil  to  help 
himself. 

Written  recitations  have  a  place  and  a  value  as 
soon  as  pupils  can  write  readily  from  dictation. 
Spelling  and  language  exercises  may  be  written  at 
an  early  stage,  and  as  soon  as  lessons  in  geography, 
arithmetic,  etc.,  are  learned  from  books,  there  is 
special  advantage  in  occasional  written  recitations. 
They  constitute  a  more  thorough  test  of  pupils' 
knowledge  than  oral  recitations.  The  questions 
are  likely  to  be  prepared  with  more  care,  and  each 
pupil  must  put  himself  on  record  for  every  question 
and  problem  given.  In  oral  recitation,  a  glib 
talker  may  pass  for  more  than  he  is  worth,  but  not 
so  when  he  comes  to  write  what  he  knows  in 
plain  characters.  Imperfect  or  partial  answers  will 
then  appear  in  their  true  character.  Occasional 
written  recitations,  without  occupying  more  than 
the  usual  time,  may  often  prove  a  revelation  to 
both  teacher  and  pupils.  It  would  not  be  wise, 
however,  to  use  the  written  method  exclusively,  or 
to  make  it  the  main  dependence. 

For  pupils  somewhat  advanced  the  method  by 
topics  has  special  advantage.  It  requires  more 
comprehension  and  thorough  preparation,  and  more 

116 


RECITATION  AND  STUDY. 

fully  cultivates  and  tests  the  power  of  expression 
than  any  other  method.  Properly  conducted,  it 
compels  the  pupil  to  make  careful  analysis  of  the 
subject  and  to  classify  and  arrange  his  thoughts  in 
an  orderly  way,  so  as  to  tell  what  he  knows  in  a 
smooth,  connected  statement.  Study  and  recitation 
thus  become  what  they  ought  to  be,  a  real  training 
in  thought  and  expression.  It  is  true  that  the 
topic  method  in  the  hands  of  a  weak  teacher  may 
degenerate  into  mere  babble  about  unimportant  and 
unrelated  details  ;  but  as  much  may  be  said  of  any 
method.  The  letter  killeth,  the  spirit  quickeneth. 
No  method  is  good  enough  to  dispense  with  the 
quickening  and  life-giving  power  of  the  living 
teacher. 

Some  use  of  the  topic  method  may  be  profitably 
made  in  grades  lower  than  those  to  which  it  is 
usually  applied.  The  little  people  in  the  primary 
geography  class,  for  example,  may  be  encouraged 
to  tell  in  several  successive  sentences  what  they 
have  learned  about  a  given  country,  city,  lake  or 
river,  and  thus  gradually  acquire  the  power  to 
stand  on  their  feet  and  express  themselves. 

The  catechetical  method  has  always  been,  and 
is  likely  to  remain,  the  teacher's  main  reliance  in 
the  recitation.  For  stimulating  and  directing  the 
pupil's  mind,  as  well  as  revealing  to  him  his  own 
weakness  and  the  insufficiency  of  his  preparation, 
there  is  nothing  like  searching  questioning.  To  be 
a  good  teacher,  one  must  be  master  of  the  art  of 


117 


TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

questioning.  A  good  question  is  thought-provoking, 
and  throws  the  pupil  as  much  as  possible  upon  his 
own  resources.  The  teacher's  questions  should 
generally  follow  in  logical  order  and  lead  to  a  sys- 
tematic unfolding  of  the  subject.  They  should 
always  be  couched  in  clear  and  unmistakable  terms, 
and  always  adapted  to  the  comprehension  of  the 
pupils.  Questions  need  not  always  be  hard  to 
answer.  On  the  other  hand,  many  questions 
should  be  asked  which  the  pupils  can  readily  answer. 
This  will  add  to  the  interest  and  life  of  the  reci- 
tation, and  give  the  pupils  courage.  But  not 
many  recitations  should  pass  without  some  ques- 
tions calculated  to  search,  and  probe,  and  test. 
There  should  be  tests  of  memory,  of  imagination, 
of  invention,  of  thought. 

Some  of  the  best  high-school  recitations  I  have 
ever  heard  have  been  those  in  which  the  pupils 
questioned  each  other.  This  was  the  usual 
method  of  one  of  the  best  high-school  teachers  I 
ever  knew.  The  teacher  presided  over  the  recita- 
tion, the  pupils  did  the  work — and  they  did  it 
thoroughly.  They  delved  into  every  nook  and 
corner  of  the  subject,  and  brought  out  things  new 
and  old.  It  led  to  a  more  masterly  preparation  of 
lessons,  and  often  to  such  an  exhibition  of  mental 
gymnastics  as  I  have  rarely  witnessed  elsewhere. 
But  it  is  too  sharp  and  effective  an  instrument  to  be 
wielded  by  any  but  skillful  hands. 

Pupils    may   answer    (i)   simultaneously.     For 

118 


RECITATION  AND  STUDY. 

rapid  review,  and  for  drill  on  tables,  dates  in  his- 
tory, and  all  such  things  as  need  to  be  fixed  in  the 
memory  by  frequent  repetition,  the  simultaneous 
method  is  appropriate.  But  it  will  not  serve  the 
more  important  ends  of  the  recitation.  It  is  an  in- 
sufficient test.  It  encourages  shirking.  No  teacher 
has  sufficient  power  and  skill  to  teach  a  large  class 
well  in  bulk.  There  is  always  need  to  individualize. 

(2.)  Pupils  may  be  called  upon  to  recite  con- 
secutively. This  is  convenient  and  insures  regular 
participation  in  the  recitation  by  every  member 
of  the  class ;  but  in  a  large  class  there  would  be 
temptation  to  inattention,  and  cases  have  been 
known  of  pupils  preparing  only  the  part  of  the 
lesson  likely  to  fall  to  them  in  regular  course. 

(3.)  The  promiscuous  method  of  calling  upon 
pupils  to  recite  should  be  the  teacher's  main  reli- 
ance. Under  the  skillful  use  of  this  method  no 
pupil  will  consider  himself  exempt  at  any  time,  as 
every  question  will  be  directed  to  every  member  of 
the  class.  If  any  show  signs  of  inattention,  the 
teacher  will  naturally  pay  his  respects  to  such 
more  frequently,  until  they  conclude  to  mend  their 
ways.  It  will  require  some  care  to  give  to  each  his 
portion  in  due  season.  Those  that  always  recite 
well  and  those  that  always  recite  badly  are  the  two 
extremes  to  be  watched. 

A  few  general  suggestions  concerning  class 
management  and  the  conduct  of  recitations  will 
close  this  chapter. 


119 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

1.  Secure  and  hold    the    attention   of   every 
member  of  the  class  throughout  the  entire  recita- 
tion.    The  recitation  should  never  begin  without 
attention,  nor  should  it  proceed  in  any  part  while 
any  pupils  are  inattentive.      The  degree  of  atten- 
tion secured  is  the  measure  of  the  teacher's  success. 
An  experienced  and  skillful   inspector  of  schools 
and  school  work,  on  entering  a  school,  will  imme- 
diately and  almost  unconsciously  observe  the  char- 
acter of  attention  in  the  class  and  in  the  school.     It 
cannot  be  held  permanently  by  merely  commanding 
it.     It  comes  through  healthy  interest,  largely  the 
result  of  the  teacher's  personality  and  the  teacher's 
methods.     Some  devices  are  of  temporary  advan- 
tage, such  as  asking  the  question  before  designating 
the  pupil  who  is  to  recite  ;  but  the  teacher  must  get 
the  reins  well  in  hand,    there  must  be   a  right 
spirit    in    the    school,    and    the    pupils   must    be 
deeply  interested  in  their  work.      If  these  things 
be  in  the  school  and  abound,  attention  will  not  be 
lacking. 

2.  Do  not  do  the  pupil's  work  for  him.     The 
minimum  of  talking  and  explanation  on  the  part  of 
the  teacher  and  the  maximum  of  active  exertion 
on  the  part  of  the  pupils,  is  the  ideal  of  excellence 
in  the  recitation.     The  best  teacher  soonest  makes 
himself  useless  to  his  pupils.      The  teacher  should 
study  and  practice  economy  of  speech  ;  his  words 
should  be  few  and  well  chosen.     To  impart  his  own 
knowledge  is  not  the  true  work  of  the  teacher,  but 


120 


RECITATION  AND  STUDY. 

rather  to  stimulate  and  direct  his  pupils  in  their 
efforts  to  obtain  knowledge  for  themselves. 

3.  Have  a  definite  plan  for  every  recitation  and 
follow  it.     Many  a  recitation  fails  for  want  of  pur- 
pose and  plan.     With  an  end  in  mind  to  be  reached, 
drive  hard  to  reach  it.     High  school  and  college 
students  have  been  known  to  side-track  the  recita- 
tion by  skillfully  raising  questions  and  getting  the 
teacher  started  on  some  favorite  theme  nearly  or 
remotely  related  to  the  subject  in  hand,  and  thus 
the  time  passes  and  the  students  escape  the  humili- 
ating exposure  of  their  unfaithfulness  in   study. 
The  teacher  should  stick  to  the  text  and  hold  his 
pupils  to  it. 

4.  Be  elementary  and   simple.      Dr.    Joseph 
Alden  bears  testimony  to  the  value  of  simplicity 
in  teaching  in  these  words  :     * '  In  an  experience  of 
twenty-five  years  as  a  college  teacher,  I  have  dis- 
covered that  I  have  been  successful  according  as  I 
have  been  elementary  and  simple  in  my  teaching. " 
The  teacher  should  not  speak  to  his  pupils  in  an  un- 
known tongue.     Simple  words  and  short  sentences 
should  be  his  rule. 

5.  Maintain  a  cheerful  and  patient  spirit.    Pet- 
ulance is  one  of  the  besetting  sins  of  teachers.     It 
is  a  great  misfortune,  both  to  himself  and  to  his 
pupils,  for  a  teacher  to  fall  under  the  domination  of 
an  irritable,   fault-finding  temper.      The    teacher 
must  learn  to  bear  with  stupidity  and  waywardness; 
he  will  find  much  of  both.      Dr.   Channing  says 


121 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

truly  that  the  boy  or  girl  compelled  for  six  hours  a 
day  to  see  the  countenance  and  hear  the  voice 
of  a  fretful,  unkind,  hard  or  passionate  teacher,  is 
in  a  school  of  vice.  Be  patient,  be  cheerful. 

6.  Keep  in  sympathy  with  your  pupils.    lyearn 
to  "  put  yourself  in  his  place/'     Cherish  a  real  in- 
terest in  the  welfare  and  progress  of  each  and  every 
pupil.       Keep  growing    yourself    and   watch   for 
growth  in  your  pupils. 

7.  Do  not  accept  as  known  and  understood 
what  the  pupil  is  unable  to  state  clearly.     What 
you  give  your  pupils  in  the  way  of  instruction,  re- 
quire them  to  give  back  to  you.     Only  a   weak 
teacher  will  accept  the  statement,  ' ( I  know  it,  but 
I  cannot  tell  it.' ' 

8.  Review  frequently.     Dr.  H.  Clay  Trumbull 
says  in  his  book  entitled   Teaching  and  Teacher s> 
' '  From  one-quarter  to  one-half  of  the  entire  time 
occupied  by  a  teacher  in  the  teaching  process  could 
be  employed  to  advantage  in  one  form  or  another  of 
review. "   "  Repetition  is  the  mother  of  studies. " 

9.  Censure    sparingly.      Reproof    is    ten-fold 
more  effective  when  spoken  by  lips  more  wont  to 
speak  words  of  praise. 

10.  Praise   judiciously.     Praise  is  a  powerful 
stimulus  when  bestowed  with  discrimination ;  but 
words  of  praise  should  not  be  spoken  when  unde- 
served. 


122 


School  Government. 


11  Nothing  is  so  easily  wrecked  as  the  soul.  As  mechan- 
isms go  up  toward  complexity,  delicacy  increases.  The 
fragile  vase  is  ruined  by  a  single  tap.  A  chance  blow  de- 
stroys the  statue.  A  bit  of  sand  ruins  the  delicate  mechan- 
ism. But  the  soul  is  even  more  sensitive  to  injury.  It  is 
marred  by  a  word  or  a  look.  Men  are  responsible  for  the 
ruin  they  work  unthinkingly." — Newell  Dwight  Hillis. 


VII. 
SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. 

MY  present  undertaking  is  to  record  in  the  most 
direct  and  simple  language,  for  all  who  may 
choose  to  read,  something  of  what  I  have  observed 
and  thought,  in  the  course  of  a  varied  experience  of 
more  than  forty  years,  on  what  seems  to  me  the 
most  difficult  and  important  part  of  the  teacher's 
work,  the  government  of  the  school.  I  shall  make 
no  effort  at  profundity,  nor  yet  at  fine  writing. 
Without  fear  of  the  charge  of  egotism  before  my 
eyes,  I  shall  draw  freely  from  my  own  experience 
when  that  seems  to  serve  the  purpose  best,  not 
omitting  to  tell  of  mistakes  and  failures,  as  well  as 
of  well  directed  and  successful  effort. 

I  have  often  witnessed  the  painful  striving  of 
young  teachers  in  an  unequal  contest  with  a  school 
of  fifty  or  more  young  people  brimful  of  animal  life 
and  mischief.  I  have  watched  with  intense  inter- 
est and  sympathy  the  first  efforts  of  young  girls 
fresh  from  the  high  school,  going  to  their  new  work 
full  of  hope  and  high  expectation,  and  shedding 
bitter  tears  of  disappointment  by  the  end  of  the  first 
or  second  week,  I  have  sometimes  been  led  to  say 
that  these  novices  are  not  fairly  ready  to  begin 
until  they  have  had  several  good  cries. 


125 


TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

It  is  for  such  mainly  that  I  write,  in  the  hope  of 
helping  some  of  them  to  get  their  eyes  open  to  see 
something  of  the  character  and  scope  of  the  work — 
something  of  the  possibilities  of  power  and  skill  for 
themselves,  and  of  good  for  their  pupils. 

My  own  apprenticeship  was  spent  in  country 
schools,  unattended  by  any  special  difficulty  or  any 
unusual  experiences  of  any  kind.  My  pupils  were 
for  the  most  part  tractable  and  docile,  and  all  of 
them  in  large  measure  proof  against  injury  from  my 
blind  blundering  efforts  ;  else  my  life  would  now  be 
miserable  from  the  recollection  of  the  harm  done. 
A  courage  bred  of  ignorance,  as  it  now  seems,  in  some 
measure  supplied  the  lack  of  experience  and  skill. 

But  when  I  first  came  to  take  charge  of  a  large 
city  school,  the  case  was  very  different.  It  was  a 
much  stronger  and  wilder  team  I  then  had  to  man- 
age. I  had  thought  the  government  of  a  school 
comparatively  easy,  but  the  illusion  was  soon  dis- 
pelled. My  first  city  school  was  a  large  grammar 
school  of  perhaps  a  hundred  and  twenty  pupils,  all 
seated  in  one  large  room  to  which  were  attached 
recitation  rooms  where  my  two  assistants  taught 
their  classes.  It  was  a  very  trying  ordeal  for  a 
young  schoolmaster,  and  the  more  so  because  in  the 
same  building  was  a  demoralized  high  school,  from 
which  the  contagion  of  disorder  and  insubordination 
extended  to  the  other  departments. 

My  resources  were  soon  exhausted.  I  had  been 
opposed,  both  in  theory  and  practice,  to  the  use  of 

126 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. 

the  rod  in  schools,  and  had  publicly  maintained  that 
view,  but  I  underwent  a  speedy  conversion.  The 
rod  was  brought  in  and  vigorously  used,  and  with 
good  effect.  Since  that  time  my  theory  has  been 
and  still  is  that  it  is  better  to  control  a  school  with 
the  rod  than  that  it  should  be  uncontrolled.  This 
is  no  warrant  for  the  injudicious  or  unnecessary  use 
of  the  rod  when  higher  and  better  means  of  control 
may  be  available  and  effective.  But  of  this  more 
may  be  said  later. 

Broadly  viewed,  the  right  government  of  the 
school  is  a  difficult  and  laborious  part  of  the  teach- 
er's work,  requiring  a  large  amount  of  energy, 
courage,  judgment,  tact,  and  skill.  The  govern- 
ment of  a  large  city  school  requires  higher  talent 
and  greater  executive  ability  than  the  command  of 
a  regiment  of  soldiers.  And  the  importance  of  good 
government  in  a  school  is  more  than  commensurate 
with  its  difficulty.  It  is  vital  and  essential.  The 
success  of  the  school  in  general  depends  upon  it,  and 
its  influence  in  the  formation  of  individual  character 
is  very  great.  It  is  doubtless  true  that  the  kind 
and  measure  of  control  which  the  teacher  exercises 
is  a  gerater  factor  in  the  formation  of  individual 
character  than  all  his  direct  instruction. 

It  then  behooves  every  one  who  is  called  to  teach 
to  inform  himself  thoroughly  as  to  the  possibilities 
for  good  which  lie  in  the  government  of  the  school, 
its  underlying  principles,  and  its  best  means  and 
methods.  It  also  behooves  him  to  exercise  full 


127 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

diligence  in  the  use  of  every  available  means  for  the 
attainment  of  power  and  skill  in  the  art  of  govern- 
ment. A  resolute  purpose  and  a  definite  aim  at  the 
outset  are  very  essential.  My  advice  to  young 
teachers  in  starting  has  always  been,  Control  your 
school  by  the  best  agencies  at  your  command,  but 
by  any  and  all  means  make  sure  of  control.  Make 
no  provision  for  any  other  outcome ;  entertain  no 
misgivings. 

I  propose  now  to  consider  more  at  length  and  in 
several  particulars  the  ends  to  be  sought. 

i .  Good  Order.  This  may  not  be  an  ultimate 
end  ;  it  may  be  considered  a  means  to  a  higher  end  ; 
still  it  is  an  end  of  no  mean  importance. 

What  constitutes  good  order  in  school  is  a  ques- 
tion involving  much  more  than  appears  at  a  superfi- 
cial view.  That  is  not  always  best  which  appears 
best.  The  highest  degree  of  quiet  is  not  necessarily 
the  best  order,  though  a  reasonable  measure  of  quiet 
should  prevail.  Indeed  it  is  not  easy  to  define  or  to 
state  specifically  what  constitutes  good  order.  It  is 
in  some  measure  a  relative  term.  What  may  be 
good  order  in  one  school  or  with  one  teacher  might 
not  be  so  in  another  school  or  with  another  teacher. 
And  sometimes  the  order  in  a  school  cannot  be  pro- 
nounced good  until  the  means  and  methods  by  which 
it  is  secured  are  known.  Of  two  schools,  one  may 
be  very  quiet,  every  movement  may  be  character- 
ized by  promptness  and  precision,  and  all  the  pupils 
may  be  attentive  to  their  work  ;  the  other  may  not 

128 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. 

be  so  quiet,  there  may  be  less  of  exactness  and  more 
of  freedom  in  movement,  and  the  eyes  of  the  pupils 
may  not  be  quite  so  closely  confined  to  their  books. 
Yet,  if  I  should  observe  in  the  first  that  the  teacher 
stood  like  a  sentinel  on  guard,  constantly  on  the 
alert  to  discover  the  slightest  infractions  of  order, 
scarcely  venturing  to  turn  his  back  to  the  school, 
and  in  the  other  I  should  observe  that  the  teacher 
gave  himself  to  the  work  of  instruction,  depending 
in  large  measure  upon  the  pupils  to  keep  themselves 
in  order,  and  the  pupils  were  doing  their  work  with- 
out apparent  constraint,  I  would  not  hesitate  to 
pronounce  in  favor  of  the  latter  ;  the  order  is  better. 
I  was  a  close  and  interested  observer,  for  several 
years,  of  a  lady's  management  of  a  certain  high 
school.  The  pupils,  numbering  more  than  a  hun- 
dred, were  seated  in  one  large  assembly  room  with 
recitation  rooms  attached.  Some  of  my  first  visits 

after  Mrs.  S took  charge  of  the  school  gave  me 

an  unfavorable  impression.  The  school  seemed 
noisy  and  disorderly.  After  several  visits,  I  ven- 
tured to  suggest  very  gently  that  the  school  seemed 
rather  noisy.  The  reply  was,  ' '  Wait  a  little ;  I 
hope  to  bring  it  out  all  right. 5)  The  first  sign  of 
improvement  observed  was  a  growing  interest 
among  the  pupils  in  their  work.  It  soon  became 
apparent  that  the  teacher  was  unusually  strong, 
both  morally  and  intellectually,  and  that  she  was 
looking  ahead.  She  patiently  endured  some  things 
for  the  time  which  most  teachers  would  have 


129 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

attacked  directly  and  vigorously,  and  probably  not 
without  some  friction  and  ill  will.  She  secured  the 
respect  of  the  pupils  and  by  degrees  became  com- 
plete master  of  the  situation ;  but  the  school  never 
became  noted  for  its  quiet  or  nice  order.  It  was  a 
working  school  rather  than  a  quiet  school.  The 
teacher's  motto  was,  ' '  Keep  the  pupils  busy.  Give 
them  plenty  of  work  to  do  and  see  that  they  do  it 
well."  Nothing  was  done  for  show.  Everything 
was  valued  for  its  bearing  on  character  and  on  the 
legitimate  work  of  the  school.  The  pupils  had 
large  liberty.  They  were  permitted  to  cross  the 
room  in  an  orderly  way  at  any  time,  without  asking 
leave,  to  consult  the  dictionary  or  encyclopedia. 
No  "  whispering  reports"  were  taken,  yet  pupils 
who  wasted  time  or  made  disturbance  by  whisper- 
ing were  sharply  dealt  with  until  the  habit  was  cor- 
rected. There  was  no  marching  and  countermarch- 
ing—  no  military  tactics.  All  the  pupils'  move- 
ments were  natural  and  free,  without  rudeness  or 
boisterousness.  There  was  no  sitting  with  folded 
arms  and  no  tip-toeing  with  arms  behind  the  back. 
The  pupils  were  subject  to  the  will  of  the  teacher,  a 
good  spirit  prevailed,  and  effective  work  filled  the 
hours. 

Who  shall  say  that  the  order  in  this  school  was 
not  good  ?  It  was  not  such  as  we  sometimes  hear 
called  "  fine,"  or  "  beautiful,"  but  good  it  certainly 
was.  It  was  such  as  only  a  teacher  of  unusual 
power  can  secure  and  maintain.  For  a  weak  or  a 


130 


SCHOOIv  GOVERNMENT. 

mediocre  teacher  to  undertake  to  manage  so  large  a 
school  in  such  a  way  would  prove  a  disastrous  fail- 
ure ;  but  it  is  an  ideal  toward  which  all  may  strive. 
Not  many  teachers  can  give  to  their  pupils  such 
large  liberty  and  yet  hold  the  school  well  in  hand. 
To  be  able  to  train  young  people  into  the  right  use 
of  such  liberty  is  a  high  attainment,  a  noble  art. 

The  teacher  must  be  master.  The  school  must 
be  controlled ;  order  must  be  maintained.  The 
character  of  the  forces  at  the  teacher's  command  for 
the  attainment  of  this  end  determines  better  than 
anything  else  his  real  worth  as  a  teacher. 

Perhaps  I  should  add  that  a  school  is  in  good 
order  when  every  pupil  is  in  his  own  place  and  in 
good  spirit  attending  to  his  own  business  in  such 
way  as  not  to  disturb  or  hinder  any  other  pupil. 

2.  To  restrain  and  correct  whatever  is  wrong  in 
the  conduct  and  habits  of  pupils.  The  ordinary 
school  is  not  exactly  a  reformatory  ;  yet  the  teacher 
as  well  as  the  parent  must  be  vigilant  in  checking 
and  overcoming  the  tendencies  of  children  to  evil. 
In  nearly  every  school  are  some  pupils  of  depraved 
tendencies ;  and  unless  there  are  strong  counter- 
acting and  correcting  influences,  they  will  contami- 
nate and  pervert  others.  Especially  is  this  true  of 
large  schools  in  cities  and  towns.  Without  a 
strong,  watchful  teacher,  such  schools  are  liable  to 
become  schools  of  vice.  Under  almost  any  condi- 
tions, the  demoralizing  tendency  of  a  large  school, 
when  not  well  controlled,  is  great.  It  is  often 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

surprising  with  what  readiness  children  from  good 
homes  fall  into  the  practices  of  evil  companions,  in 
schools  under  weak  or  lax  government.  Rudeness, 
falsehood,  profanity,  and  vileness  are  very  conta- 
gious. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  strong  teacher,  with  high 
moral  character  and  purpose,  is  a  great  power  for 
good.  In  such  case  it  is  literally  true  that  one  can 
chase  a  thousand. 

It  is  not  enough  that  the  teacher  be  vigilant 
and  skillful  in  detecting  and  punishing  evil-doers, 
though  this  is  well  as  far  as  it  goes.  He  must 
build  up  the  good  as  well  as  destroy  the  evil.  The 
great  desideratum  is  a  health-giving  and  invigora- 
ting moral  atmosphere,  and  this,  only  an  upright, 
pure  and  strong  teacher  can  beget.  What  great  in- 
centives to  purify  himself  and  be  strong  are  ever 
before  the  teacher  whose  eyes  are  open  to  see  his 
work  !  This  is  one  of  the  blessed  compensations  of 
the  business  of  teaching.  With  a  discovery  of  its 
possibilities  there  is  apt  to  come  an  intense  desire  to 
realize  one's  ideal  in  his  own  life  and  character,  and 
this  for  the  sake  of  his  pupils  rather  than  himself. 

3.  To  beget  the  habit  and  spirit  of  obedience. 
The  great  lesson  of  life  is  the  lesson  of  obedience. 
Schiller  tells  us  that  the  first  great  law  is  to  obey, 

and 

44  Obedience  is  the  Christian's  crown." 

One  of  the  sacred  writers  has  said,  "  To  obey 
is  better  than  sacrifice.'*  The  teachers  of  the  land 


132 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. 

can  do  no  greater  service  to  the  State  than  to  train 
their  pupils  to  obedience.  Moral  lessons  and  les- 
sons in  civics  are  well  enough  ;  but  they  have  their 
chief  value  as  auxiliaries  in  begetting  the  spirit  of 
obedience.  Without  the  spirit  and  habit  of  obedi- 
ence, no  amount  of  moral  and  civic  instruction  or  of 
formal  acts  of  devotion  will  avail  much.  I  would 
rather  have  my  child  in  a  school  where  he  is  trained 
to  implicit  obedience,  than  in  one  where  long 
Scripture  lessons  are  read  and  long  prayers  are  said, 
with  slackness  in  the  matter  of  obedience.  Scrip- 
ture lessons  and  prayers  are  good  in  their  place, 
and  they  may  properly  have  a  place  in  school,  but 
the  great  thing  is  training  in  right  life  and  conduct. 

I  doubt  whether  even  teachers  themselves  re- 
alize how  great  a  power  for  good  lies  in  the  training 
of  the  public  schools  in  the  direction  of  obedience. 
And  here  I  wish  to  testify  to  the  great  gain  that 
has  been  made  in  recent  years.  The  discipline  of 
the  schools  is  far  better  than  it  was  at  a  time  within 
the  recollection  of  many  now  living.  Teachers 
have  greater  power  and  higher  skill  in  governing. 
There  is  far  less  of  antagonism  and  harsh  discipline, 
and  far  more  of  gentleness  and  refinement.  The 
pupils  are  more  tractable  and  obedient.  The  re- 
straining and  uplifting  influence  of  the  schools  is 
very  great.  Many  a  young  anarchist  is  taught  les- 
sons in  the  schools  that  will  last  him  for  a  lifetime. 

If  it  be  said  that  law-breaking,  recklessness  and 
crime  abound,  let  it  be  remembered  that  many  pow- 


133 


TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

erful  agencies  for  evil  are  at  work,  and  were  it  not 
for  the  counteracting  influence  of  the  schools  and 
churches,  the  outlook  would  be  gloomy  indeed. 
Our  land  seems  to  be  more  than  ever  the  dumping- 
ground  for  the  refuse  of  the  Old  World's  population, 
and  these  herd  in  our  great  commercial  centers, 
making  each  a  danger  center.  Out  of  the  children 
of  this  mixed  multitude  the  schools  must  make 
American  citizens  ;  and  never  before  in  the  world's 
history  were  schools  so  well  fitted  for  so  great  a 
work  as  are  the  American  free  schools  of  to-day. 
I/et  teachers  be  encouraged  to  renewed  zeal  and 
higher  endeavor. 

4.  To  beget  a  sense  of  individual  responsibility. 
Daniel  Webster  was  once  asked  what  he  considered 
the  greatest  thought  that  had  ever  occupied  his 
mind.  He  replied,  '  'The  thought  of  my  own  indi- 
vidual accountability. ' '  And  it  is  a  thought  that 
tends  to  impress  every  right-minded  person  most 
profoundly.  It  is  a  serious  thing  to  live  the  life 
of  a  man  or  a  woman  in  the  world,  knowing  that 
every  one  of  us  must  render  a  strict  account, — 
that  even  ' '  every  idle  word  that  men  shall  speak 
they  shall  give  account  thereof.''  There  is  not 
much  strength  or  stability  of  character  without  a 
considerable  measure  of  this  sense  of  oughtness ; 
and  its  strong  development  in  anyone  is  almost  a 
guarantee  of  safety  in  the  voyage  of  life.  Its  de- 
velopment in  pupils  is  a  matter  of  cultivation  and 
growth.  Teachers  are  apt  to  feel  that  little  can  be 


134 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. 

done  in  this  direction,  and  so  put  forth  little  effort. 
Perhaps  it  is  caught  rather  than  taught.  Certain  it 
is  that  the  teacher  who  acts  from  a  deep  sense  of 
his  own  accountability,  and  whose  first  question  is 
always,  What  is  the  right  thing  to  do  ?  will  steadily 
gain  ground.  In  all  dealings  with  pupils  in  mat- 
ters of  conduct,  it  is  well  to  appeal  to  their  sense  of 
duty,  even  though  it  be  known  to  be  weak.  There 
is  no  better  or  surer  way  of  quickening  this  sense. 
Did  you  do  right  ?  Is  your  record  clean  ?  Is  your 
conscience  clear  ?  are  questions  which,  coming  from 
the  lips  of  a  faithful  and  earnest  teacher,  can  scarcely 
fail  of  an  effect.  The  discovery  of  the  want  of 
moral  sense  in  pupils  should  stimulate  rather  than 
discourage  effort. 

Of  course,  the  years  before  school  life  begins  is 
the  important  period.  The  moral  sense  and  moral 
standards  of  children  are  largely  the  product  of  the 
influences  which  surround  them  during  this  early 
period.  In  this  there  is  strong  reason  for  public 
kindergartens  in  the  cities,  for  the  large  class  of 
children  whose  infant  lives  are  spent  in  an  atmos- 
phere of  vice  and  crime,  and  whose  early  moral 
training  would  be  otherwise  entirely  neglected.  It 
would  be  true  economy  as  well  as  true  philanthropy 
to  provide  free  kindergartens  for  these  children, 
with  compulsory  attendance  from  the  age  of  three 
or  four  to  six  or  seven. 

But  I  am  more  and  more  impressed  with  the 
weight  of  responsibility  which  comes  upon  our 


135 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

public  school  teachers  for  this  same  class  of  chil- 
dren. For  many  of  them  the  public  school  is  almost 
their  only  opportunity ;  and  I  am  sure  that  teachers 
of  warm  heart  and  earnest  purpose  can  do  much  for 
them. 

5.  To  beget  self -control.  There  is  probably  no 
better  test  of  the  government  of  a  school.  That 
school  is  best  governed  that  has  in  it  most  of  self- 
government.  The  school  that  is  kept  under  by  the 
vigilant  eye  and  the  strong  hand  of  the  teacher,  and 
is  ready  to  break  into  disorder  whenever  the  teach- 
er's back  is  turned,  is  not  well  governed,  no  matter 
how  quiet  and  orderly  it  may  be  under  the  teacher's 
eye. 

It  should  be  the  aim  of  the  teacher  to  beget  such 
a  spirit  in  his  school  that  he  can  at  any  moment 
without  warning  leave  the  room,  in  the  full  confi- 
dence that  for  a  reasonable  time  good  order  will  be 
maintained  and  the  work  of  the  school  go  on  with- 
out his  presence.  This  is  not  an  unattainable  ideal, 
in  proof  of  which  I  might  cite  numerous  examples. 
A  large  grammar  school  in  southern  Ohio  has  been 
known  to  run  in  good  order  for  an  entire  half  day, 
without  the  teacher  or  a  substitute.  Work  being 
assigned  for  the  entire  session,  the  pupils  did  it  and 
retired  in  good  order  at  the  proper  time.  I  knew  a 
school  in  Cleveland,  of  about  third  year  or  third 
reader  grade,  that  ran  in  perfect  order  for  a  full 
week,  in  the  care  of  a  little  girl  who  was  a  member 
of  the  school.  These  may  be  considered  excep- 

136 


SCHOOL   GOVERNMENT. 

tional  cases,  but  they  point  out  the  direction  in 
which  the  teacher's  effort  should  be  bent. 

The  immediate  results  of  judicious  effort  in 
this  direction  are  most  gratifying  to  both  teacher 
and  pupils.  The  government  becomes  easy  for 
the  teacher  and  pleasing  to  the  pupils.  But  the 
more  remote  and  more  important  results  are  seen 
in  the  growing  power  of  self-control  in  the  pupils, 
and  these  are  valuable  beyond  estimate.  The  chief 
business  of  each  individual  life  in  this  world  is  to 
get  self-mastery.  The  master  of  self  is  master  of 
all.  The  highest  praise  is  "  not  to  the  strong  man 
1  who  taketh  a  city,'  but  to  the  stronger  man  who 
'ruleth  his  own  spirit. '  This  stronger  man  is  he 
who  by  discipline,  exercises  a  constant  control  over 
his  thoughts,  his  speech  and  his  acts.  Nine-tenths 
of  the  vicious  desires  that  degrade  society,  and 
which,  when  indulged,  swell  into  the  crimes 
that  disgrace  it,  would  sink  into  significance  before 
the  advance  of  valiant  self -discipline,  self-respect, 
and  self-control.  By  the  watchful  exercise  of  these 
virtues,  purity  of  mind  and  heart  becomes  habitual, 
and  the  character  is  built  up  in  chastity,  virtue, 
and  temperance. ' ' 

Such  results  are  worth  the  teacher's  highest 
thought  and  best  effort,  and  the  encouraging  thing 
is  that  they  are  in  large  measure  attainable.  L,et 
the  teacher  seek  first  for  himself  personal  worth 
and  high  ideals,  then  press  steadily  onward. 

6.      To  keep  pupils  up  to  their  best.      This  is  an 

137 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

ideal  which  has  grown  apace  in  my  mind  as  the 
years  go  by.  It  ought  to  be  the  ideal  of  every 
teacher,  toward  the  realization  of  which  he  should 
ever  strive  intensely.  Every  pupil  at  his  best — 
what  a  grand  attainment !  It  would  preclude  all 
over-strain  as  well  as  all  inattention  and  idling.  It 
would  imply  riveted  attention,  intense  application, 
to  the  work  in  hand — thoroughness  of  investiga- 
tion, persistence  to  the  point  of  complete  compre- 
hension, and  clear  and  smooth  expression.  It 
would  also  imply  the  best  effort  of  each  in  conduct 
— best  effort  at  resistance  of  evil,  best  exercise  of 
right  thought  and  feeling,  full  purpose  and  volition 
in  the  direction  of  the  right  and  good,  and  prompt 
and  efficient  action. 

Does  it  not  appear  that  there  are  grand  possibili- 
ties in  the  government  of  the  school,  to  him  that 
has  been  born  into  the  spirit  of  the  true  teacher  ? 

We  are  now  to  consider  some  limitations  in  the 
government  of  the  school.  The  teacher  is  not  an 
absolute  monarch.  His  power  is  limited  and  condi- 
tioned by  the  statute  and  the  courts,  by  the  "  rules 
and  regulations'1  of  the  board  of  education,  and 
by  parental  prerogatives.  And  this  is  well ;  for 
there  is  always  a  tendency  in  human  nature  to  the 
abuse  of  power.  The  charge  of  mismanagement 
and  abuse  lies  against  every  human  agency  for  the 
exercise  of  control  among  men.  The  State,  the 
family,  and  the  school  must  all  plead  guilty.  All 

138 


SCHOOIy  GOVERNMENT. 

have  contributed  to  the  sum  of  human  misery  by 
the  unwise  and  unskillful  exercise  of  authority. 
Undoubtedly,  family  government  is  most  at  fault, 
and  its  evil  consequences  are  most  widely  spread 
and  most  baneful.  There  may  be  some  comfort  to 
teachers  in  the  reflection  that  they  are  not  the 
greatest  sinners. 

It  behooves  the  teacher  to  know  well  the  limits 
and  bounds  of  his  prerogative.  In  the  first  place, 
he  should  familiarize  himself  with  all  the  require- 
ments of  the  statutes  which  have  any  bearing  upon 
him  or  his  work.  In  this,  most  teachers  are  very 
negligent.  Probably  not  one  teacher  in  ten  has 
ever  read  the  school  law  of  the  State  in  which  he 
lives  and  labors.  Everyone  should  have  a  copy  of 
the  law,  and  should  at  least  be  sufficiently  familiar 
with  it  to  refer  to  it  readily  on  any  question  which 
may  arise  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  He  should 
also  be  a  doer  of  the  law,  showing  himself  in  all 
things  law-abiding ;  for  how  shall  one  train  his 
pupils  to  obedience  who  is  himself  disobedient  ? 

The  teacher  is  subordinate  in  authority  to  the 
board  of  education  that  employs  him.  The  authori- 
tative control  and  direction  of  the  school  is  vested 
by  the  statute  in  the  board  of  education,  and  the 
teacher  derives  his  authority  partly  from  the  board 
and  partly  from  the  unwritten  law  of  custom  and 
common  sense.  It  sometimes  seems  strange  that 
there  is  in  the  statute  so  little  direct  recognition  of 
the  teacher's  authority.  His  right  to  be  obeyed 


139 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

and  to  enforce  obedience  is  everywhere  assumed 
rather  than  expressly  declared.  As  to  the  distri- 
bution of  powers  between  the  board  and  the  teacher, 
there  is  considerable  diversity  of  practice.  I  have 
known  some  country  schools  in  which  the  teacher 
was  almost  supreme  dictator,  making  and  enforcing 
his  own  rules  and  regulations,  even  to  the  extent  of 
adopting  text-books,  the  board  doing  little  besides 
putting  the  teacher  in  charge  and  signing  the  pa- 
pers necessary  to  draw  his  pay  at  the  end  of  the 
term.  On  the  other  hand,  I  have  known  city 
boards  that  went  to  the  opposite  extreme  of  meddle- 
some interference  with  the  internal  management 
and  instruction  of  the  school. 

It  is  the  part  of  wisdom  for  boards  of  education 
to  secure  competent  and  faithful  teachers  and  give 
them  liberty.  Many  a  worthy  and  efficient  teacher 
has  left  the  work  in  disgust  because  of  the  med- 
dlesome interference  of  school  directors.  Superin- 
tendents of  city  schools  are  most  frequently  the  vic- 
tims of  this  kind  of  interference.  None  but  superin- 
tendents themselves  know  how  hard  a  thing  it 
sometimes  is  for  one  in  such  a  position  to  do  his 
whole  duty  toward  teachers  and  pupils,  and  at  the 
same  time  "  get  along"  with  a  meddlesome  board, 
or  even  with  one  officious  member.  I  am  free  to 
say  that  this,  more  than  anything  else,  led  me  to 
seek  relief  from  the  position  of  superintendent, 
when  I  would  otherwise  have  been  glad  to  con- 
tinue the  work.  The  outside  world  will  never 


140 


SCHOOIy  GOVERNMENT. 

know  how  many  school  superintendents  have  quietly 
retired,  or  have  been  retired,  because  of  too  much 
manhood  to  submit  to  the  dictation  of  ignorance 
and  arrogance ;  nor  will  it  ever  be  known  how 
many  others  meekly  submit  for  the  sake  of  holding 
their  positions  in  peace.  All  honor  to  such  super- 
intendents as  Drs.  E.  E.  White,  Andrew  J.  Rickoff , 
B.  A.  Hinsdale,  and  Robert  W.  Stevenson,  for  their 
examples  of  courage  and  manly  independence. 

Of  course,  there  is  a  legitimate  and  reasonable 
exercise  of  the  authority  conferred  on  boards  of  ed- 
ucation by  the  statute,  to  which  superintendents  and 
teachers  should  render  all  due  respect  and  obedience. 

limitations  of  school  authority  having  virtually 
the  force  of  law  are  set  forth  in  various  court  de- 
cisions which  have  been  rendered  from  time  to  time. 
Many  of  these  are  discussed  at  some  length  in  a  se- 
ries of  articles  which  appeared  in  the  Ohio  Educa- 
tional Monthly  some  time  ago.  A  brief  summary 
of  the  more  important  points  is  here  presented: 

1 .  Reasonable  and  necessary  rules  adopted  by 
the  teacher  are  valid,  even  though  not  formally  ap- 
proved or  adopted  by  the  board,  and  they  are  bind- 
ing upon  pupils  equally  with  the  rules  of  the  board. 

2.  Rules  requiring  prompt  and  regular  attend- 
ance are  deemed  reasonable  and  necessary  to  the 
highest  welfare  of  the  school,  and  may  be  enforced 
by  reasonable  measures  ;  but  locking  tardy  children 
out  on  a  cold  winter  morning  has  been  pronounced 
unreasonable. 


141 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

3.  It  has  been  held  in  Ohio  that  the  board  of 
education  has  full  authority  to  require  or  forbid  re- 
ligious exercises  in  the  school ;  but  in  some  other 
States  the  right  of  the  board  to  require  any  form  of 
religious  exercise  has  been  challenged.       It  is  the 
opinion  of  the  writer  that,  whatever  may  be  the 
constitutional  or  legal  right  in  the  case,  it  is  not  or- 
dinarily the  wisest  policy  for  the  board  either  to  re- 
quire or  to  forbid  religious  exercises. 

4.  In  the  absence  of  statutory  prohibition,  the 
courts  uniformly  sustain  the  teacher  in  the  inflic- 
tion of  corporal  punishment,  but  hold  him  crimin- 
ally liable  for  excessive  punishment  through  anger 
or  malice,  and,  in  some  cases,  even  through  error  of 
judgment. 

5.  The  power  of  suspension  and  expulsion  is 
carefully  guarded  by  statute  in  Ohio.     The  teach- 
er's power  is  limited  to  temporary  suspension,  for 
such  time  only  as  may  be  necessary  to  convene  the 
board  of  education.     A  pupil  can  be  expelled  only 
by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  board,  after  the  parent 
or  guardian  has  had  the  opportunity  of  being  heard. 
Neither  suspension  nor  expulsion  can  extend  beyond 
the  school  term  in  which  it  occurs. 

6.  The  parent  and  the  teacher  have  concurrent 
authority  over  the  pupil  on  the  way  to  and  from 
school,  the  teacher's  authority  extending  more  par- 
ticularly to  all  matters  affecting  the  well-being  of  the 
school.  After  the  pupil  reaches  his  home,  the  parent '  s 
authority  is  fully  resumed  and  the  teacher's  ceases. 


142 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. 

7.  The  question  of  the  parent's  right  to  select 
the  studies  to  be  pursued  by  his  child  has  given  rise 
to  diverse  decisions,  but  the  weight  of  the  more  re- 
cent authority  denies  to  the  parent  the  right  to 
make  such  selection.  All  the  courts  concede  the 
right  of  the  board  of  education  to  prescribe  a  course 
of  study  for  the  schools  under  its  management ;  but 
the  parent's  claim  to  some  liberty  of  choice  among 
the  prescribed  studies  is  not  wholly  unreasonable, 
especially  when  it  works  no  interference  with  other 
rights  or  interests.  There  is  room  here  for  the 
play  of  common  sense  and  good  spirit  on  the  part  of 
the  teacher.  While  he  should  not  weakly  and 
meekly  yield  to  the  demands  of  ignorant  and  selfish 
arrogance,  he  should  ever  welcome  the  advice  and 
assistance  of  parents  in  doing  what  is  best  for  each 
pupil.  It  may  often  be  looked  upon  as  a  relief  to 
have  parents  thus  share  the  teacher's  responsibility. 
Besides,  there  are  in  almost  every  community  intel- 
ligent parents  who  have  plans  for  the  higher  edu- 
cation of  their  children.  It  seems  only  fair  that 
they  should  be  able  to  shape  their  elementary  train- 
ing with  some  reference  to  these  plans,  whenever  it 
can  be  done  without  detriment  to  other  interests. 

In  view  of  all  these  limitations  and  conditions  of 
school  authority,  and  in  the  light  of  observation 
and  experience,  the  following  statements  may  be 
accepted  as  guiding  principles  : 

i .  In  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  direct  govern- 
ment  of  the  pupils  the  supreme  authority  of  the  teacher 


143 


TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

should  be  recognized.  It  is  the  province  of  the 
teacher  to  seat  his  pupils  ;  to  maintain  order;  to  di- 
rect the  movements  of  the  pupils  in  the  school 
room,  and  when  entering  and  leaving  it ;  to  direct 
the  pupils  in  study  ;  to  conduct  recitations  and  give 
such  oral  instruction  in  the  prescribed  branches  as 
he  may  deem  best ;  to  enforce  obedience  to  the 
written  and  unwritten  rules  of  good  behavior  ;  and 
to  inflict  such  reasonable  punishments  as  may  be 
necessary  to  correct  pupils'  faults  and  secure  obedi- 
ence. And  in  the  exercise  of  his  prerogative  in  all 
these  and  other  similar  matters  he  should  be  as  free 
from  interference  from  all  sources  as  the  board  of 
education  itself  in  the  exercise  of  its  legitimate 
functions.  This  supremacy  of  the  teacher  in  all 
that  legitimately  pertains  to  the  work  of  a  teacher 
does  not  preclude  helpful  suggestion  and  advice 
from  the  superintendent,  from  parents,  or  from  any- 
one capable  of  rendering  such  assistance ;  but  it 
does  preclude  all  arbitrary  dictation  or  constraint 
of  the  teacher  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  imme- 
diate control  and  instruction  of  the  pupils.  The 
success  or  failure  of  the  school  depends  upon  the 
teacher,  and  very  largely  upon  his  government.  He 
should  have  liberty  to  govern.  He  should  not  be 
hampered  by  the  board  with  unnecessary  restric- 
tions, nor  by  the  interference  of  meddlesome  parents. 
It  is  not  only  right  but  necessary  for  the  teacher  to 
resist  all  interference  with  his  own  special  preroga- 
tives in  the  school.  It  was  good  advice  that  Dr. 


144 


SCHOOL   GOVERNMENT. 

White  once  gave  to  a  body  of  teachers,  when  he  said 
in  substance,  If  parents  are  disposed  to  interfere  in 
the  management  of  the  school,  treat  them  respect- 
fully and  politely,  hear  attentively  and  patiently  all 
they  have  to  say,  and  then  go  and  do  just  as  you 
please. 

Of  course,  all  this  implies  ability  on  the  teacher's 
part.  It  would  be  absurd  and  ridiculous  for  him  to 
make  strong  claim  of  prerogatives  he  is  not  capable 
of  exercising.  Here  a  word  may  be  said,  paren- 
thetically, about  the  mistake  frequently  made, 
especially  by  young  teachers,  of  leaning  unduly 
upon  the  superintendent  or  some  other  superior  au- 
thority in  the  control  of  his  pupils.  The  teacher 
must  govern  his  school  himself.  He  cannot  do  it  by 
proxy.  Nobody  else  can  do  it  for  him.  A  board 
of  education  can  uphold  and  encourage  its  teachers 
by  sustaining  them,  even  though  they  make  some 
mistakes,  and  the  superintendent  can  do  the  same, 
while  he  advises  and  prompts  from  behind  the 
scenes ;  but  whenever  either  board  or  superin- 
tendent finds  it  necessary  to  come  between  the 
teacher  and  the  school,  and  take  the  reins  of  gov- 
ernment, there  is  little  hope  of  the  teacher's  suc- 
cess in  governing.  Injudicious  help  from  the  su- 
perintendent tends  to  hasten  the  teacher's  failure. 
It  is  not  a  good  sign  for  a  teacher  to  send  up  many 
cases  of  discipline  to  any  higher  authority.  This 
sometimes  becomes  a  matter  of  some  delicacy  for 
the  superintendent,  inasmuch  as  teachers  are  liable 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

to  misjudge  his  motives  when  he  discourages  the 
referring  of  many  cases  of  discipline  to  him.  It  is 
not  for  the  superintendent's  sake,  but  the  teacher's, 
that  I  emphasize  the  matter  here. 

A  firm  determination  to  be  master  is  a  desirable 
state  of  mind  in  young  teachers.  I  have  felt  called 
upon  a  good  many  times  to  say  to  young  people 
about  to  begin  the  work  of  teaching,  ''Govern  your 
schools!  Control  your  pupils  by  the  highest  and 
best  means  within  your  resources ;  but  CONTROL 
them." 

2.  The  teacher  should  have  due  regard  for  paren- 
tal authority.  This  is  almost  a  corollary  of  the  first 
proposition.  He  should  readily  concede  to  parents 
in  their  sphere  as  much  as  he  claims  for  himself  in 
his  own,  and  he  should  always  remember  that  the 
parents  of  his  pupils  have  a  higher  and  deeper  in- 
terest in  them  than  he  has.  This  second  proposi- 
tion may  have  some  bearing  upon  the  practice  of 
detaining  pupils  after  the  expiration  of  school 
hours.  Is  it  in  harmony  with  proper  regard  for 
parental  prerogatives  to  detain  pupils  at  the  noon 
recess  beyond  the  home  dinner  hour,  thus  interfer- 
ing with  the  order  of  the  family?  Or  to  detain 
them  after  the  close  of  the  afternoon  session,  when 
parents  may  have  important  appointments  for  them, 
or  may  require  their  help  at  home?  These  lines 
may  recall  to  some  who  read  them  the  practice  of 
the  writer,  in  days  gone  by,  in  some  of  these  par- 
ticulars. But  no  matter.  Sometimes  we  grow  wiser 

146 


SCHOOL,  GOVERNMENT. 

as  we  grow  older.  I  leave  the  foregoing  questions 
to  be  answered  by  each  reader  for  himself.  Of  one 
thing  I  am  sure  :  it  is  not  in  harmony  with  the 
proposition  now  under  consideration  for  a  teacher 
to  speak  disrespectfully  or  disparagingly  of  a  pupil's 
parents  in  the  hearing  of  the  pupil.  There  is  some- 
times a  strong  temptation  to  transgress  here.  When 
a  rude  and  insolent  boy  comes  with  "my  father 

says ,"  how  natural  the  reply,  "  your  father 

isn't  running  this  school!"  but  all  such  replies 
would  better  remain  unspoken.  A  teacher  should 
studiously  avoid  whatever  might  tend  to  lower  his 
pupils'  respect  and  esteem  for  their  fathers  and 
mothers.  As  a  rule,  the  teacher  is  liable  to  suffer 
most  in  this  regard. 

When  teachers  themselves  become  parents,  they 
sometimes  see  a  good  many  of  these  things  with 
different  eyes  from  those  they  formerly  used ;  and 
still  more  when  they  become  grandparents. 

3 .  The  highest  good  of  each  and  every  pupil  should 
be  the  end  and  aim  of  the  teacher  in  all  his  plans  and 
methods.  Sometimes  the  good  of  pupils  is  in  a 
measure  sacrificed  to  appearances,  or  to  a  false  no- 
tion of  nice  order.  The  great  question  with  the 
teacher  should  ever  be,  not,  how  will  this  look? 
or  what  would  visitors  say  ?  but  what  will  be  best 
in  the  long  run  for  these  young  lives  ?  Sometimes 
much  good  is  sacrificed  to  a  mere  whim  or  caprice 
of  the  teacher,  or  to  his  ease  and  convenience.  He 
that  would  save  his  life  shall  lose  it. 


THK  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

Certain  conditions  favorable  to  good  govern- 
ment in  school  seem  to  deserve  some  attention. 
Among  these  are  : 

i.  A  suitable  number  of  pupils.  The  number 
of  pupils  which  should  constitute  a  school  is 
not  a  fixed  quantity.  It  varies  with  other  con- 
ditions. Something  depends  upon  the  age  and 
grade  of  the  pupils,  and  a  good  deal  upon  the  ex- 
perience and  skill  of  the  teacher.  It  is  fair  to  say 
that  even  a  good  teacher  cannot  secure  the  highest 
ends  of  government,  say  nothing  of  instruction, 
when  the  number  of  pupils  much  exceeds  forty, 
without  an  undue  expenditure  of  his  own  vitality. 
I  know  that  teachers  do  sometimes  keep  sixty  and 
even  seventy  or  more  pupils  in  seeming  good  order. 
For  several  years  it  was  my  lot  to  have  charge  of 
large  city  schools,  ranging  from  a  hundred  to  a 
hundred  and  fifty  pupils,  with  assistants  in  class- 
rooms ;  but  I  have  no  desire  to  repeat  the  experi- 
ence. When  the  number  of  pupils  seated  in  one 
room  under  the  control  of  one  teacher  passes  fifty, 
the  labor  of  management  and  control  increases  in 
more  than  an  equal  ratio.  The  old-time  large 
school  under  a  principal,  with  assistant  teachers  in 
class-rooms,  is  happily  disappearing.  The  wiser 
plan  is  to  give  to  each  teacher  in  a  separate  room 
her  appropriate  number  of  pupils,  and  that  number 
should  range  from  twenty-five  to  forty,  according, 
to  circumstances.  It  is  injustice,  amounting  to 
cruelty,  to  place  an  inexperienced  girl,  not  yet  out  of 

148 


SCHOOL   GOVERNMENT. 

her  teens,  in  charge  of  a  school  of  fifty  or  sixty  pu- 
pils of  any  age  or  grade.  In  every  system  of  city 
schools,  small  schools  of  not  more  than  twenty  or 
twenty-five  pupils  should  be  provided  for  novices, 
until  by  experience  they  gain  strength  and  con- 
fidence. If  this  were  done,  there  would  be  fewer 
failures  in  government,  and  many  children  would 
be  better  governed  and  better  taught. 

2.  Comfortable  and  pleasing  surroundings.  Few 
teachers  fully  appreciate  the  effect  of  surroundings 
on  the  government  of  a  school.  Unswept  floors, 
mutilated  desks  and  benches,  dirty  windows,  dingy 
walls,  and  foul  atmosphere,  invite  the  demons  of 
mischief  and  disorder,  while  the  opposite  conditions 
repel  them. 

A  school  house  site  should  be  selected  with  care. 
Heathf  ulness  and  convenience  of  access  should  have 
due  consideration  —  far  more  than  they  usually  re- 
ceive ;  but  I  wish  to  speak  more  particularly  of 
beauty  of  prospect  and  surroundings.  The  culture 
and  refinement  of  a  community  or  neighborhood 
may  often  be  fairly  judged  by  the  location  and  con- 
dition of  its  school  house.  School  authorities  in 
cities  cannot  always  choose  with  strict  reference  to 
beauty  of  situation ;  they  should  at  least  always 
avoid  dark  alleys,  crowded  and  noisy  streets,  and  the 
clatter  and  din  of  railroad  stations  and  shops  and 
factories.  But  there  is  small  excuse  for  locating  a 
country  school  house  in  an  unsightly  place,  for  a 
good  site  can  almost  always  be  obtained  at  small 


149 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

cost.  The  most  beautiful  spot  that  is  not  too  re- 
mote from  the  center  of  the  district  should  be 
selected  —  in  or  near  a  grove  of  forest  trees,  if  pos- 
sible ;  if  not,  trees  should  be  planted  without  delay. 
Ample  grounds  should  be  secured — not  less  than 
two  or  three  acres,  and  the  teacher  should  feel  it  his 
duty  as  well  as  his  pleasure  to  interest  the  pupils  in 
improving  and  beautifying  the  grounds.  I  look 
back  over  a  period  of  forty  years  with  pleasure 
to  a  neat,  white  school  house  on  the  border  of  an 
Illinois  prairie,  near  a  beautiful  grove,  in  which  I 
taught  for  two  years.  Many  a  morning  and  even- 
ing hour  in  springtime  did  I  spend  with  my  boys  in 
bringing  young  maple  trees  from  the  grove  and 
planting  them  about  the  school  house,  while  the 
girls  made  flower  beds  and  planted  flowers ;  and  I 
was  pleased  to  learn  recently  that  my  name  is  still 
associated  in  that  community  with  the  trees  we 
planted,  now  grown  large  and  beautiful. 

While  such  things  have  a  direct  bearing  upon 
the  government  of  the  school,  they  have  a  higher 
influence  that  is  far-reaching.  "A  school  house  so 
situated  that  the  children  who  frequent  it  can  look 
out  in  all  directions  upon  scenes  of  romantic  wild- 
ness  or  quiet  beauty,  will  teach  many  lessons  better 
than  they  can  be  learned  from  books.  We  are 
taught  unconsciously  by  the  objects  that  surround 
us ;  and  towering  mountains  and  peaceful  valleys, 
golden  grain  and  shaded  forests,  rough  wild  rocks 
and  pleasant  gardens,  villages  dotting  the  neighbor- 


150 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. 

ing  plains,  and  vessels  gliding  along  the  distant 
river, —  all  have  truth  for  the  intellect  and  beauty 
for  the  heart.  Scenes  like  these  leave  upon  the 
susceptible  mind  of  a  child  a  deep  and  lasting  im- 
pression. Accustomed  to  look  upon  the  beautiful 
in  nature,  he  will  learn  to  appreciate  the  beautiful 
in  life.  Thus  instructed,  he  will  be  more  apt  to 
shun  the  low  and  the  groveling,  the  profane  and  the 
vulgar,  and  to  exemplify  the  sentiment,  'How 
near  to  what  is  good  is  what  is  fair ! '  "  Thus 
wrote  a  devoted  teacher  who  has  gone  to  his 
reward.  Another,  still  living,  has  written  in 
similar  strain  :  ' '  Beautiful  surroundings  have 
much  to  do  in  creating  a  love  for  the  beautiful.  A 
school  house  so  situated  that  the  children  are 
brought  face  to  face  with  the  beautiful  in  nature, 
and  surrounded  on  all  sides  with  such  scenery  as 
must  necessarily  make  them  love  the  beautiful  from 
the  very  association,  will  have  its  beneficial  effects 
not  only  on  the  discipline  and  order  of  the  school, 
but  also  in  the  formation  of  the  moral  character  of 
the  pupils.  Children  coming  from  such  a  school 
cannot  fail  to  have  a  more  refined  taste  and  a  purer 
moral  character  than  those  schooled  amid  surround- 
ings which  lack  every  essential  element  of  beauty. 
The  teaching  of  the  beauty  surrounding  us  is  un- 
conscious, but  the  lessons  learned  are  none  the  less 
pleasing  and  none  the  less  valuable.  Every  moun- 
tain-slope, every  verdant  valley,  every  winding 
stream,  every  charming  landscape,  has  its  influence 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

in  forming  character.  L,et  children,  then,  always 
be  surrounded  with  the  beautiful,  that  the  life 
within  may  be  made  to  grow  beautiful  in  harmony 
with  the  life  without.'' 

For  like  reasons,  due  regard  should  be  had 
in  the  planning  and  construction  of  school  houses, 
to  utility,  convenience,  healthfulness,  comfort,  and 
architectural  beauty.  Many  school  houses  and 
schools  of  the  past  have  been  schools  of  vice,  in 
large  measure  because  of  the  discomfort,  deformity 
and  unsightliness  of  the  appointments  and  sur- 
roundings. Simple  beauty  is  not  costly.  Good 
judgment  and  taste  are  more  needed  than  money. 
No  gaudy  extravagance  is  necessary ;  it  is  simply 
a  matter  of  proportions,  of  adaptation,  of  form,  of 
color. 

It  should  be  to  teachers  a  matter  of  conscience 
as  well  as  a  pleasure  to  see  that  the  school  premises, 
within  and  without,  are  well  kept.  In  so  doing 
they  help  themselves  while  they  bless  the  commu- 
nity. The  proper  ventilation  and  heating  of  the 
school  room  and  the  comfortable  seating  of  the  pu- 
pils bear  directly  upon  the  government  of  the 
school  as  well  as  upon  the  health  and  happiness  of 
the  pupils  ;  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  taste- 
ful arrangement  and  ornamentation  of  the  room. 
To  a  consecrated  and  efficient  teacher,  it  will  often 
prove  but  a  labor  of  love  to  transform  a  dingy  and 
unsightly  school  room  into  one  of  taste  and  simple 
beauty.  Whitewash  for  the  walls,  paint  or  even 


152 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. 

soap  and  water  for  the  wood- work,  inexpensive  cur- 
tains for  the  windows,  pictures  that  may  be  had  al- 
most without  cost,  a  profusion  of  flowers  and 
autumn  leaves,  are  better  educators  than  whips, 
leather  straps,  or  branches  of  birch  or  beech. 

In  1849  I  made  an  engagement  to  teach,  for  ten 
months,  in  a  little  frame  school  house  by  the  road- 
side, in  southwestern  Ohio,  at  an  annual  salary  of 
$200.  The  school  house  contained  little  beside  some 
rude  desks  and  benches,  a  stove,  a  water  pail,  and 
a  broom.  There  were  no  shades  for  the  windows, 
and  nothing  whatever  suggestive  of  taste  or  beauty. 
Soon  after  the  opening  of  the  term,  some  good 
genius  suggested  the  thought  of  doing  something  to 
improve  the  appearance  of  the  school  room.  Deem- 
ing it  useless  to  apply  to  the  school  directors,  I 
went  to  town  at  the  first  opportunity  and  purchased 
sufficient  five- cent  calico  to  make  curtains  for  all 
the  windows,  and  tape  and  small  nails  with  which 
to  hang  the  curtains.  I  also  purchased  a  number 
of  cheap,  bright-colored  pictures.  I  think  the 
whole  cost  did  not  exceed  three  dollars.  Taking 
some  of  the  older  girls  of  the  school  into  my  confi- 
dence, I  parceled  out  among  them  the  work  of  hem- 
ming the  curtains,  and  putting  in  the  hem  at  the 
top  a  sufficient  length  of  tape  by  which  to  hang 
them.  When  all  were  completed,  I  remained  after 
school  one  evening  long  enough  to  put  the  curtains 
in  place,  two  on  each  window,  neatly  draped  over 
a  large  nail  at  each  side.  The  pictures  were  tacked 


153 


TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 


on  the  wall  in  such  a  way  as  to  produce  the  best 
effect,  and  the  transformation  was  complete.  It 
was  worth  more  than  double  the  expenditure  to 
witness  the  surprise  and  delight  of  the  pupils  as 
they  assembled  the  next  morning.  A  country 
school  house  with  curtains  on  the  windows  and 
pictures  on  the  walls  was  a  thing  hitherto  unheard 
of  in  all  that  region,  and  the  fame  of  the  school 
and  its  teacher  soon  went  abroad  —  cheap  fame  per- 
haps it  was  ;  but  certain  it  is  that  no  other  invest- 
ment I  ever  made  brought  more  speedy  returns  or  a 
larger  percentage  on  the  investment.  Calls  to 
other  districts,  at  an  increased  salary,  soon  came. 
it  is  needless  to  add  that  discipline  in  that  school 
became  almost  a  vanishing  quantity. 

3.  A  judicious  organization  of  the  school.  By  or- 
ganization is  meant  the  orderly  arrangement  of  school 
and  school  work  —  a  time  and  place  for  everything 
and  everything  in  its  own  time  and  place.  It  needs 
neither  argument  nor  illustration  to  show  that  all 
the  ends  of  good  government  may  be  more  fully 
as  well  as  more  readily  attained  in  a  well  organ- 
ized school  than  in  one  not  well  organized. 
And  here  it  is  to  be  observed  that  the  highest 
degree  of  organization  is  not  necessarily  the  best. 
The  more  simple  a  machine,  the  less  friction  its 
operation  is  likely  to  generate.  The  organization 
of  a  school  should  be  as  simple  as  possible  —  just 
enough  of  machinery  to  do  the  work  effectively 
and  no  more. 


154 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. 

The  proper  seating  of  pupils  belongs  to  the  or- 
ganization of  the  school,  and  it  is  the  absolute  pre- 
rogative of  the  teacher.  I  have  heard  teachers 
complain  of  difficulty  arising  out  of  the  claim  of 
pupils  to  certain  seats  because  of  previous  occu- 
pancy. A  boy  has  been  known  to  say,  "  I  sat  in 
this  seat  all  last  term,  and  it's  mine.0  No  such 
claim  should  be  conceded  for  a  moment.  A 
pupil's  seat  is  his  to  occupy  only  so  long  as,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  teacher,  his  own  or  others'  interests 
are  best  subserved  by  his  sitting  there.  A  change 
of  seats  is  often  desirable,  and  the  teacher  should 
expect  and  exact  obedience  in  this  as  in  everything 
else  pertaining  to  the  conduct  of  the  school. 

It  was  the  custom  in  former  years  to  seat  schools 
with  reference  to  sex.  The  girls  occupied  one  side 
of  the  room  and  the  boys  the  other.  In  Cleveland, 
thirty-five  years  ago,  and  even  later,  boys  and  girls 
were  taught  in  separate  schools.  In  certain  grades, 
there  was  a  school  of  boys  on  one  side  of  the 
hall  and  a  school  of  girls  of  corresponding  grades 
opposite.  And  when,  in  Akron,  thirty  years  ago, 
boys  and  girls  in  all  departments  were  seated  pro- 
miscuously, it  was  looked  upon  as  a  doubtful  inno- 
vation. But  the  practice  is  now  generally  prevalent 
throughout  the  country.  It  is  more  natural  and 
home-like,  it  promotes  good  order,  and  in  the  hands 
of  a  wise  teacher  its  tendency  is  refining  and  enno- 
bling to  both  sexes. 

Due  regard  should  be  had  to  size  in  seating. 


155 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

This  applies  more  particularly  to  country  schools, 
in  which  pupils  of  all  ages  and  sizes  attend  the  same 
school.  In  any  case,  large  pupils  should  not  be 
compelled  to  occupy  seats  too  small  for  comfort  or 
tending  to  induce  an  unnatural  or  unhealthful 
posture  of  any  part  of  the  body  ;  nor,  on  the  other 
hand,  should  small  pupils  be  permitted  to  sit  in 
seats  too  high  or  too  large  for  their  small  and  tender 
bodies.  Proper  support  of  feet  and  back  is  specially 
important,  and  the  teacher  is  culpable  who  permits 
a  little  child  to  occupy  a  seat  during  the  hours  of 
school  with  feet  dangling  or  back  not  properly  sup- 
ported. Attention  to  such  details  would  save  a 
good  many  curved  spines  and  femurs  and  strained 
and  unhealthy  muscles,  as  well  as  prevent  a  good 
deal  of  restlessness  and  disorder  in  school. 

In  city  schools  of  two  grades,  a  good  effect  is 
produced  by  alternate  seating.  The  pupils  of  the 
two  grades  should  be  alternated  in  rows  across  the 
room  from  side  to  side  as  well  as  from  front  to  rear. 
Thus  no  two  pupils  of  same  grade  would  occupy 
adjoining  seats,  and  when  one  grade  is  called  out 
for  recitation,  the  other  grade  is  regularly  dis- 
tributed over  the  room,  with  the  greatest  degree  of 
isolation  and  the  minimum  of  temptation  to  com- 
municate. 

Some  regard  may  properly  be  had,  in  the  seating 
of  a  school,  to  the  conduct  of  pupils, —  or  perhaps 
better,  to  the  degree  of  self-control  attained.  Pupils 
most  in  need  of  the  restraining  and  directing 

156 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. 

influence  of  the  teacher's  presence,  may  sit  near  the 
front,  where  they  will  be  more  directly  under  the 
teacher's  eye  ;  while  those  who  can  be  depended  on 
to  govern  themselves  may  have  seats  in  the  more 
remote  parts  of  the  room. 

I  once  made  the  experiment  of  seating  a  large 
city  school  according  to  rank  or  standing  in  scholar- 
ship. At  the  beginning  of  each  month  the  pupils 
were  ranked  in  the  order  of  their  standing  for  the 
previous  month,  and  seated  accordingly.  It  proved 
a  very  strong  incentive  to  effort.  The  more  ad- 
vanced and  capable  pupils  strove  for  the  honor  seats 
in  the  upper  section,  and  the  less  capable  ones 
strove  to  reach  a  place  as  far  as  possible  from  the 
(<  tail  "  of  the  class.  But  the  device  cannot  be  com- 
mended for  its  high  moral  effect  in  strengthening 
and  ennobling  character.  The  more  earnest  and 
skillful  a  teacher  becomes,  the  less  is  he  inclined  to 
resort  to  such  devices.  The  following  words  con- 
cerning the  same  matter  are  from  Dr.  White's  book 
on  School  Management : 

' *  We  have  never  visited  a  school  using  this  de- 
vice without  feeling  a  deep  sympathy  for  the  pupils 
seated  in  the  lowest  section,  some  of  whom  deserve 
higher  commendation  than  those  in  the  seats  of 
honor.  How  often  it  is  true  that  the  low  standing 
of  pupils  is  not  due  to  a  lack  of  fidelity  or  praise- 
worthy effort,  but  to  circumstances  beyond  their 
control,  as  a  lack  of  opportunity  for  home  study, 
the  absence  of  needed  assistance,  etc.  What  a 


157 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

contrast  there  is  in  the  home  advantages  of  the 
pupils  in  a  public  school ! 

"  More  frequently,  perhaps,  a  failure  to  reach  a 
high  standing  is  due  to  a  lack  of  natural  ability, 
especially  ability  to  do  easily  what  is  required  in 
school ;  and  certainly  dullness  is  not  a  dishonor, 
though  it  may  be  a  misfortune.  Nothing  in  school 
management  is  more  clearly  reprehensible  than  the 
placing  of  a  stigma,  directly  or  indirectly,  on  dullness 
or  other  accident  of  birth.  All  pupils  enter  a  school 
with  equal  rights,  and  are  entitled  to  equal  consid- 
eration. The  dull  child,  whose  standing  does  not 
crowd  '  100, '  has  as  much  right,  if  he  be  faithful, 
to  look  to  the  school  for  kindness  and  honor,  as  the 
brightest.  No  teacher  has  the  right  to  put  a  faith- 
ful child,  though  dull,  in  a  seat  on  which  rests  a 
shadow  of  dishonor.  There  is  no  place  in  any 
school  for  injustice  or  inhumanity.  No  wise  parent 
would  willingly  send  a  dull  child  to  a  school  where 
dullness  is  made  a  disgrace." 

An  important  part  of  the  organization  of  a 
school  or  a  system  of  schools  is  the  classification 
of  the  pupils.  Every  school  should  be  classified  ; 
the  degree  and  kind  of  classification  will  depend  on 
a  variety  of  conditions.  When  only  a  small  number 
of  pupils  can  be  brought  together  and  their  attain- 
ments vary  widely,  as  in  the  country  schools,  no 
very  close  classification  is  practicable ;  but  when 
several  hundred  pupils  can  be  assembled  at  one 
place,  there  will  usually  be  a  sufficient  number,  of 

158 


SCHOOIy  GOVERNMENT. 

like  attainments,  to  form  classes  to  be  instructed 
together,  and  thus  result  what  are  called  graded 
schools.  It  is  not  necessary  to  the  present  purpose 
to  consider  at  length  the  subject  of  classification. 
The  important  thing  is  that  each  and  every  pupil 
be  kept  where  he  will  have  the  fullest  opportunity 
and  the  best  incentive  to  use  his  time  and  energies 
profitably.  This  is  a  matter  of  much  importance. 
The  boy  whose  work  is  too  heavy  for  him  is  liable 
to  become  discouraged  and  relax  his  efforts,  and  so 
become  a  disturbing  element ;  while  the  boy  with 
too  little  to  do  is  ever  subject  to  the  solicitations  of 
him  who  finds  work  for  idle  hands  to  do.  It  may 
not  always  be  wisest  to  adhere  rigidly  to  a  strict 
classification.  If  the  work  of  a  given  grade  proves 
too  light  for  a  given  pupil,  and  he  is  not  prepared 
to  undertake  the  work  of  the  grade  next  above,  let 
him  recite  some  one  study  in  both  grades  for  a  time, 
with  a  view  to  overtaking  the  grade  above  him. 
For  purposes  of  this  kind,  and  for  other  reasons, 
half-yearly  grades  and  promotions  are  preferable. 
The  steps  being  shorter,  the  pupils  pass  more 
readily  from  grade  to  grade  either  way,  and  a  closer 
and  more  exact  classification  becomes  possible. 
But  semi-annual  classification  is  practicable  only 
where  the  number  of  pupils  is  sufficient  to  give  to 
each  teacher  a  proper  quota  of  pupils  without  an  un- 
due number  of  classes.  The  point  I  wish  to  em- 
phasize here  is  that  the  ends  of  good  government 
in  school  are  promoted  by  giving  to  each  pupil 


159 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

work  suitable  in  amount  and  kind  and  seeing  that 
he  does  it. 

A  question  sometimes  mooted  among  teachers  is 
the  best  number  of  grades  to  constitute  a  school. 
Most  teachers  prefer  one  grade.  It  is  claimed  that 
when  a  school  consists  of  but  one  grade  there  is 
greater  economy  of  time  and  labor.  The  teacher 
has  fewer  lessons  and  exercises  to  prepare,  the  en- 
tire school  can  take  the  same  written  work  at  the 
same  time,  and  the  teacher  has  more  time  to  render 
needed  assistance  to  individual  pupils.  I  am  in- 
clined to  the  opinion  expressed  by  Dr.  Harris  in  one 
of  his  St.  Louis  reports,  that,  all  things  considered, 
two  grades  in  a  school  are  best,  with  alternate  study 
and  recitation.  This  is  especially  true  of  pupils  old 
enough  to  learn  lessons  from  books.  The  habit  of 
quiet,  persistent,  and  unaided  study  far  outweighs  all 
the  assistance  the  teacher'  may  give  in  the  pupil's 
study  hour.  The  teacher's  time  to  help — rather  to 
stimulate  and  encourage  to  effort — is  in  the  recita- 
tion hour.  The  danger  is  that  with  a  teacher  ever 
at  hand  to  render  assistance  in  study  the  pupils  will 
be  systematically  trained  into  dependence  and  help- 
lessness. My  observation  is  that  the  tendency  of 
modern  methods  of  instruction  is  altogether  too 
much  in  this  direction.  It  should  be  one  of  the 
chief  aims  of  school  instruction  and  school  discipline 
to  train  pupils  into  self-reliance  and  self-helpfulness. 
Of  course  it  is  easier  to  help  a  pupil — yes,  easier  to 
do  his  work  for  him — than  to  see  that  he  does  it 


1 60 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. 

properly  himself ;  and  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
teacher's  convenience  or  ease,  or  present  popularity 
with  the  pupils,  one  grade  is  probably  preferable 
to  two.  But  with  the  best  results  in  character  and 
scholarship  in  view,  I  think  a  different  conclusion 
must  be  reached. 

There  are  some  other  elements  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  school  upon  which  it  seems  scarcely  neces-' 
sary  to  dwell  at  length,  the  subject  having  been 
treated  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  What  has  already 
been  said  about  providing  for  each  pupil  his  appro- 
priate amount  of  work  implies  the  necessity  for  a 
carefully  prepared  course  of  study.  It  should  be  well 
understood  that  a  course  of  study  is  designed  to  fa- 
cilitate and  not  to  hinder  the  work  of  the  school.  It 
should  be  followed  with  reasonable  strictness,  but 
not  slavishly.  A  measure  of  flexibility  is  necessary  in 
this  as  in  most  things  pertaining  to  the  organiza- 
tion and  management  of  the  school.  When  organi- 
zation and  system  conflict  with  the  highest  good  of 
the  pupils,  organization  and  system  should  yield. 
I  have  known  teachers,  and  even  superintendents, 
who  seemed  not  to  understand  this. 

A  daily  program  is  a  matter  of  importance,  and 
it  should  extend  to  study  as  well  as  to  recitation — 
not  with  too  much  rigidity,  but  so  as  to  serve  as  a 
general  guide  to  pupils  in  the  proper  use  of  their 
time.  The  program  of  recitations  should  be  care- 
fully adjusted  and  then  followed  with  a  good  degree 
of  strictness.  One  exercise  should  not  be  permitted 

161 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

to  trench  upon  the  time  of  another.  It  is  better  to 
stop  in  the  midst  of  the  solution  of  a  problem  than 
to  over-run  time.  A  lesson  in  promptness  may  be 
of  more  value  than  a  lesson  in  arithmetic.  When 
two  or  more  teachers  have  to  do  with  the  same 
school,  promptness  in  changing  classes  is  especially 
incumbent  on  all.  In  such  case  it  is  a  good  prac- 
tice to  assign  the  next  lesson  at  the  beginning  of 
the  recitation,  and  when  the  closing  signal  is  struck 
let  the  class  be  excused  at  once,  without  waiting 
"  for  just  one  more  word  of  explanation  "  or  "  one 
further  illustration."  All  that  can  possibly  be 
gained  by  delay  at  such  a  time  never  compensates 
for  the  jar  it  occasions  and  the  consequent  friction 
and  irritation. 

The  organization  of  a  school  is  scarcely  complete 
without  some  code  of  rules  and  regulations,  written 
or  unwritten — preferably  the  latter.  In  most  well- 
managed  schools,  country  as  well  as  city,  will  be 
found  a  system  of  rules  and  regulations,  prepared 
by  the  superintendent  or  some  other  competent  per- 
son, adopted  by  the  board  of  education,  and  printed 
with  the  prescribed  course  of  study.  These  should 
be  general  and  reasonable,  and  susceptible  of  en- 
forcement. Before  adopting  any  rule  for  the 
government  of  a  school  or  a  system  of  schools,  it  is 
well  to  consider  whether  it  can  be  fairly  carried  out, 
as  well  as  whether  the  results  of  its  enforcement 
will  be  good.  But  I  have  more  immediate  refer- 
ence here  to  the  rules  and  regulations,  which 

162 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. 

concern  the  closer  relations  of  teacher  and  pupils, 
and  lie  wholly  within  this  province.  These  may  be 
more  specific  and  should  grow  out  of  existing  con- 
ditions. I  have  intimated  that  they  need  not  be 
written,  and  generally  they  need  not  be  formally 
stated.  I^ike  Topsy,  they  are  not  made  but  grow. 
Or  perhaps,  for  the  most  part,  they  do  not  even 
grow,  but  are  found  ready-made  in  the  conscious- 
ness or  the  moral  sense  of  the  pupils,  and  need  only 
to  be  made  operative  by  the  presence  and  personality 
of  the  teacher.  To  this  end  they  should  be  very 
clearly  outlined  in  the  teacher's  mind. 

The  sum  of  what  I  would  say  to  the  young 
teacher  here  is,  Do  not  write  out  and  hang  up,  or 
even  formally  announce,  a  long  list  of  requirements 
and  prohibitions.  Rely  upon  the  pupil's  moral 
sense  to  whatever  extent  it  exists,  and  cultivate  it 
where  it  is  lacking.  When  thou  shalt  or  thou  shalt 
not  needs  to  be  spoken,  say  it  with  becoming  em- 
phasis, and  enforce  it. 

There  remains  to  be  considered  the  most  impor- 
tant, the  most  essential  condition  of  good  school 
government,  namely  : 

4.  A  teacher.  The  teacher  makes  the  school, 
is  a  trite  but  true  saying.  The  success  or  failure  of 
the  school  depends  upon  the  teacher.  And  here 
two  things  are  absolutely  essential :  The  teacher 
must  be  clothed  with  authority,  and  he  must  be 
able  to  exercise  authority.  Herein  is  the  sum  of 
the  whole  matter.  Of  the  first  of  these  conditions 


163 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

I  have  already  spoken ;  I  need  not  dwell  upon  it 
here  at  length.  Certain  it  is  that  the  teacher  must 
govern  the  school  if  it  is  governed  at  all,  and  he 
can  govern  best  when  he  has  fullest  liberty  and  is 
freest  from  outside  interference.  The  driver  of  a 
spirited  team  of  horses  is  not  apt  to  be  greatly  aided 
in  his  undertaking,  when  a  nervous  passenger  at 
his  side  lays  hold  of  the  reins. 

It  is  necessary  and  right  for  a  teacher  to  main- 
tain his  supremacy  in  all  that  legitimately  pertains 
to  the  work  of  instruction  and  discipline,  and 
to  resist  all  interference  with  the  free  exercise  of  his 
functions  as  a  teacher  ;  but  this  implies  ability  and 
fitness  on  his  part.  For  him  to  make  strong  claim 
of  prerogatives  which  he  is  incapable  of  exercising 
would  bring  only  merited  contempt. 

All  I  propose  in  this  connection  is  to  indicate 
some  of  the  elements  of  governing  power  in  the 
teacher. 

Well,  "lyCt  him  first  be  a  man,"  as  Rousseau 
puts  it.  ' '  Whoever  is  well  educated  to  discharge 
the  duty  of  a  man,  cannot  be  badly  prepared  to  fill 
up  any  of  those  offices  that  have  a  relation  to  him. 
He  will,  on  occasion,  as  soon  be- 
come anything  else  that  a  man  ought  to  be  as  any 
person  whatever. ' '  The  first  essential  of  strong  per- 
sonal influence  is  manhood  —  manliness.  Would 
you  govern  your  school  easily  and  well,  be  a  manly 
man  or  a  womanly  woman. 

The  chief  cause  of  failure  in  government  among 

164 


SCHOOL,  GOVERNMENT. 

teachers  is  want  of  character.  Children  read  char- 
acter by  instinct.  No  mere  appearance  of  virtue  or 
assumed  goodness  can  command  their  respect  and 
confidence  ;  it  must  be  genuine.  A  teacher  of  selfish 
nature  and  low  purpose  may  keep  order  and  secure  a 
measure  of  outward  obedience  by  force  of  authority 
and  will,  but  he  is  powerless  to  secure  the  higher  re- 
sults of  good  control.  Would  you  rule  supreme  in  the 
school  room,  would  you  hold  sway  in  the  hearts  of 
your  pupils,  prompting  and  inspiring  them  to  noble 
living  and  high  endeavor,  be  yourself  pure,  and  true, 
and  strong. 

It  is  one  of  the  blessed  compensations  of  the 
teacher's  office  that  it  affords  such  strong  and  con- 
stant incentive  to  self -improvement.  His  contact 
with  young  and  vigorous  life,  and  his  contempla- 
tion of  the  possibilities  of  growth  and  attainment, 
tend  to  elevate  his  ideals  and  inspire  him  to  seek 
for  their  realization  in  his  own  life,  not  for  himself 
alone,  but  also  for  the  sake  of  his  pupils. 

To  be  strong  in  government  the  teacher  needs  a 
large  element  of  humanity  in  his  composition.  His 
breast  should  be  full  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness. 
He  should  be  an  ardent  lover  of  his  kind,  a  true 
philanthropist. 

"  There's  nought  in  this  bad  world  like  sympathy." 

It  is  the  golden  rule  in  the  heart.  The  teacher 
who  has  this  power  of  putting  himself  in  his  pupil's 
place  has  an  immense  advantage.  He  can  draw 
near  to  him,  can  come  into  the  inner  chamber  of  his 

165 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

young  life,  when  the  door  would  be  shut  and  barred 
against  the  cold  and  unsympathetic  teacher. 

This  humane  or  sympathetic  spirit  is  near  of  kin 
to  love,  that  greatest  and  best  thing  in  the  world  ; 
it  is  eternal  and  never  fails.  Love  is  the  most  pow- 
erful thing  in  the  world ;  it  saves  from  sin  and 
death,  and  nothing  else  can  do  that.  And  another 
blessed  thing  about  love  is  that  the  more  one  gives 
the  more  he  has.  But  like  nearly  all  good  things, 
it  has  its  counterfeits.  A  weak  and  sickly  senti- 
mentalism  is  not  unfrequently  put  forward  in  its 
place.  Genuine  love  is  not  shown  by  petting  and 
fondling  pupils,  nor  by  laxness  in  discipline  or  in- 
dulgence and  slackness  in  requiring  the  perform- 
ance of  school  duties  ;  but  rather  by  kind  and  faith- 
ful correction  of  their  faults,  and  by  painstaking  in 
holding  them  up  to  a  high  standard  of  excellence. 

There  is  also  an  ingenuousness — a  frankness, 
candor  and  openness  of  mind — which  tends  to 
strengthen  the  hands  of  the  teacher.  It  inspires 
confidence  and  good  will.  It  is  the  opposite  of  sly 
cunning,  craftiness,  and  equivocation.  A  teacher 
should  see  sharply  and  be  able  to  discern  motives  ; 
he  should  not  be  easily  deceived  or  imposed  upon  ; 
but  he  should  not  be  himself  a  dissembler  or  trick- 
ster. 

The  teacher  should  be  in  earnest.  One  man 
thoroughly  in  earnest  is  worth  a  regiment  of  dawd- 
lers. The  bulk  of  the  world's  work  is  done  by 
honest  striving,  not  by  strokes  of  genius.  Real 

1 66 


SCHOOL   GOVERNMENT. 

earnestness  in  the  teacher  does  not  reveal  itself  in 
fussiness  or  noise,  but  rather  in  his  glowing  counte- 
nance and  fervid  tones.  It  arises  out  of  a  high 
sense  of  duty  and  clear  and  right  views  of  life.  A 
truly  earnest  soul  is  deep  and  calm,  and  there  is  al- 
ways about  him  a  glow  of  warmth  which  makes  it 
good  and  pleasant  to  be  near  him.  How  different 
the  atmosphere  of  a  school  room  which  has  in  it  a 
teacher  with  glowing  fervency  of  spirit,  from  that 
of  one  having  a  languid,  listless,  indifferent  teacher! 
The  one  stimulates  and  inspires ;  the  other  dissi- 
pates and  stupefies. 

In  order  to  govern  well,  a  teacher  must  have 
courage.  He  should  hear  and  heed  the  voice  of  the 
Great  Teacher,  saying  to  him,  "  Be  strong  and  of 
a  good  courage.  Be  not  afraid,  neither  be  thou  dis- 
mayed.0 

' '  The  brave  man  is  not  he  who  feels  no  fear, 
For  that  were  stupid  and  irrational, 
But  he,  whose  noble  soul  its  fear  subdues, 
And  bravely  dares  the  danger  nature  shrinks  from. ' ' 

It  sometimes  requires  no  small  measure  of  cour- 
age for  the  teacher  to  stand  upright  and  do  the 
thing  he  knows  is  duty.  It  is  sometimes  no  small 
undertaking  for  him  to  maintain  his  prerogative 
and  enforce  obedience.  I  once  knew  an  experienced 
and  successful  teacher  to  shrink  and  quail  before  a 
large  high  school  on  first  taking  charge  of  it.  The 
battle  was  lost  in  the  first  half  hour,  and  the  teacher 
was  compelled  to  retire  after  a  few  days  of  fruitless 
effort  to  regain  control. 

167 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

It  is  not  an  easy  thing  to  deal  justly  and  impar- 
tially with  pupils  under  all  circumstances,  especially 
when  the  teacher's  advancement,  or  perhaps  his 
position,  is  at  stake.  It  sometimes  requires  a  good 
deal  of  courage.  I  once  knew  a  case  in  which  a 
young  high-school  teacher  displayed  the  right  kind 
of  grit.  One  of  her  pupils,  the  son  of  a  very  promi- 
nent citizen,  was  indolent  and  had  neglected  his 
studies.  When  the  time  came  for  promotion,  the 
teacher  reported  against  him — marked  him  ' '  failed. ' ' 
When  the  case  came  to  the  superintendent's  atten- 
tion he  said  it  would  never  do.  The  boy's  father 
was  too  prominent  a  man  to  be  offended.  It  must 
be  fixed  up  in  some  way.  But  the  teacher  refused 
to  alter  the  record,  saying  she  would  lose  her  posi- 
tion first.  What  cringelings  most  men  are,  and 
how  admirable  is  true  courage  ? 

The  wise  teacher  regards  public  opinion,  but  he 
regards  conscience  and  duty  more. 

A  schoolmaster  should  be  the  master  of  himself. 
He  that  would  manage  and  control  others,  must 
first  be  able  to  manage  and  control  himself.  The 
teacher  needs  to  have  all  his  powers  well  in  hand, 
ready  for  every  work  and  prepared  for  every 
emergency.  He  should  have  the  ready  use  of  him- 
self, and  all  his  powers  should  be  obedient  to  his 
will.  Especially  should  he  be  able  to  control  his 
temper.  There  is  much  to  try  the  patience  of  the 
teacher.  Indeed  there  are  few  callings  more  trying 
to  the  patience,  and  none  in  which  the  maintenance 

1 68 


SCHOOL   GOVERNMENT. 

of  a  calm  and  cheerful  temper  is  more  essential. 
Some  of  the  qualities  which  give  the  teacher  his 
greatest  power,  the  ardent  spirit,  the  warm  heart, 
become,  without  due  control,  the  sources  of  his  be- 
setting sins.  Sudden  flashes  of  temper  and  hasty, 
unguarded  words  come  unbidden,  to  be  repented  of 
afterwards  in  dust  and  ashes.  Mettle  in  horse  or 
man  is  a  good  thing  when  held  in  with  bit  and 
bridle. 

Good  executive  ability  is  essential  to  good  gov- 
ernment. This  is  the  sum  or  resultant  of  many 
qualities — force  of  character,  strong  will,  good  judg- 
ment, tact,  energy,  promptness,  persistence.  It 
implies  a  knowledge  of  what  to  do  and  how  to  do  it, 
as  well  as  courage  and  efficiency  in  action.  It  im- 
plies boldness  without  recklessness,  promptness 
without  rashness,  persistence  without  obstinacy. 
Good  judgment,  or  what  is  usually  known  as  good 
common  sense,  is  really  the  basal  element  of  good 
executive  ability.  No  amount  of  will  power  or 
energy  can  supply  the  lack  of  good  judgment.  In- 
deed the  more  will  power  one  has  without  good 
judgment,  the  worse  he  is  off.  The  wise  adaptation 
of  means  to  ends  is  all-essential.  What  is  best  to 
be  done  and  what  ought  not  to  be  done  must  be 
decided  in  the  school  room,  without  much  delibera- 
tion, many  times  every  day.  Blessed  are  the  teach- 
ers who  have  large  natural  endowment  in  this 
direction.  Yet  those  of  us  who  are  not  thus  en- 
dowed should  not  give  way  to  discouragement.  An 

169 


THK  TKACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

English  school  inspector  of  large  experience  has 
said:  "  Everyone  may  acquire  the  power  of  ruling 
others  by  steadily  setting  himself  to  do  so,  by  think- 
ing well  over  his  orders  before  he  gives  them,  by 
giving  them  without  falterkig  or  equivocation,  by 
obeying  them  himself,  by  determining  in  every  case 
and  at  whatever  cost  to  see  them  obeyed,  and  above 
all,  by  taking  care  that  they  are  reasonable  and 
right,  and  properly  adapted  to  the  nature  of  child- 
hood, to  its  weaknesses  and  needs. ' ' 

Not  the  easiest  nor  the  least  important  part  of 
our  subject,  are  the  instrumentalities  or  means  for 
securing  the  ends  of  good  government  in  school. 
This  branch  of  the  subject  seems  to  fall  naturally 
into  two  divisions;  namely,  the  moral  instrumen- 
talities, and  the  mechanical  instrumentalities.  If,  in 
considering  these,  there  should  seem  to  be  some 
overlapping,  or  some  repetition  of  things  already 
said,  sufficient  excuse  may  be  found  in  their  im- 
portance. 

Under  moral  instrumentalities  I  include — 

i.  The  personality  of  the  teacher.  This  is  the 
sum  of  all  the  teacher  is,  and  it  plays  a  very  import- 
ant part  in  the  government  of  the  school.  It  is 
what  may  be  called  the  moral  power  of  the  teacher's 
own  person,  his  unspoken  and  unconscious  influence. 

Bishop  Huntington  contrasts  two  schools  some- 
what as  follows:  In  one  is  a  presiding  presence, 
which  at  first  puzzles  the  observer  to  analyze  or  ex- 
plain. The  first  thing  noticeable  is  the  absence  of 

170 


SCHOOL  GOV^RNM^NT. 

effort.  Ease  and  repose  are  combined  with  natural 
and  spontaneous  energy.  There  is  nothing  of  lan- 
guid indifference,  nor  of  feverish  excitement.  '  'The 
teacher  accomplishes  his  ends  with  singular  pre- 
cision. He  speaks  less  than  is  common,  and  with 
less  pretension  when  he  does  speak;  yet  his  idea  is 
conveyed  and  caught,  and  his  will  is  promptly  done. 
When  he  arrives  order  begins.  When  he  addresses 
an  individual  or  a  class,  attention  comes,  and  not  as 
if  it  were  extorted  by  fear,  nor  even  paid  by  con- 
science as  a  duty,  but  cordially.  Nobody  seems  to 
be  looking  at  him  particularly,  yet  he  is  felt  to  be 
there,  through  the  whole  place.  He  does  not  seem 
to  be  attempting  anything  elaborately  with  anybody, 
but  the  business  is  done,  and  done  remarkably  well. ' ' 
In  another  school  is  a  teacher  of  a  different 
style.  Here  there  is  no  end  of  painful  and  labori- 
ous striving.  The  teacher  "is  a  conscious  pertur- 
bation; a  principled  paroxysm;  an  embodied  flutter; 
a  moral  stir;  an  honest  human  hurly-burly.  In  his 
present  intention  he  is  just  as  sincere  as  the  other. 
Indeed,  he  tries  so  hard  that,  by  one  of  the  common 
perversions  of  human  nature,  his  pupils  appear  to 
have  made  up  their  minds  to  see  to  it  that  he  shall 
try  harder  yet,  and  not  succeed  after  all.  So  he 
talks  much,  and  the  multiplication  of  words  only 
hinders  the  multiplication  of  integers  and  fractions, 
enfeebles  his  government  and  beclouds  the  recita- 
tion. His  expostulations  roll  over  the  boys'  con- 
sciences like  bullets  shot  obliquely  over  the  ice;  and 


171 


TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

his  gestures  illustrate  nothing  but  impotency  and 
despair." 

If  we  ask  the  former  of  these  teachers  the  secret 
of  his  power,  he  will  not  be  able  to  tell.  If  we  tell 
the  latter  that  his  feverish  and  restless  striving  is 
his  weakness,  he  will  be  unable  to  apply  at  once  an 
effective  remedy.  If  we  ask  what  makes  the  differ- 
ence in  the  two  teachers,  a  satisfactory  answer  can- 
not be  found  in  difference  of  method,  or  in  anything 
said  or  done  by  either.  We  must  look  within. 
There  is  obviously,  in  each  case,  some  undercurrent 
of  influence,  some  internal  quality  of  manhood,  act- 
ing as  an  unseen  force  in  producing  the  visible  re- 
sults. Is  it  not  fair  to  infer  that  there  is  always, 
apart  from  the  teacher's  direct  purpose  or  conscious 
effort,  an  unconscious  teaching  which  takes  its 
quality  from  the  very  essence  of  the  teacher's  char- 
acter, so  that  oftentimes  he  teaches  most  when  he 
is  not  aware  that  he  is  teaching  at  all  ?  We  cannot 
otherwise  account  for  the  disparity  often  observed 
between  conditions  and  results.  Every  experienced 
supervisor  of  schools  who  has  observed  closely  has 
had  occasion  to  note  this  disparity.  Sometimes 
when  external  conditions  seem  most  favorable,  the 
results  are  very  disappointing.  And  again  where 
little  has  been  expected  the  best  results  appear. 

A  writer  in  a  late  number  of  School  Education 
tells  of  a  teacher  who  took  charge  of  a  room  in  good 
condition.  She  had  had  ten  years'  experience,  a 
superior  education,  and  commanding  presence.  In 

172 


SCHOOL   GOVERNMENT. 

three  days  the  room  was  idle  and  noisy;  in  ten  days, 
in  very  serious  disorder;  in  a  month,  in  rebellion. 
Those  who  had  been  the  best  pupils  under  other 
teachers,  seemed  inspired  to  do  all  the  evil  deeds 
possible  to  children  of  eleven  or  twelve  years  old. 

This  teacher's  successor  was  a  lady  of  little  ex- 
perience, of  girlish  figure  and  presence,  and  with 
small  knowledge  of  graded  school  work.  In  three 
days  the  pupils  were  orderly  and  studious;  in  a 
week  they  began  to  ask  what  they  could  do  for  her; 
and  in  two  weeks  it  became  necessary  to  forbid 
their  coming  about  her  desk  in  droves  before  the 
opening  of  school.  The  little  ruffians  of  her  prede- 
cessor were  well  behaved  and  studious,  ambitious 
to  please  their  teacher  by  good  conduct  and  hard 
study.  Every  apparent  advantage  was  with  the 
first  teacher;  yet  she  would  ruin  the  best  disposition 
in  a  short  time,  while  her  successor  would  make  the 
sourest  ones  amiable. 

And  so  it  is  generally  that  the  most  effective 
teaching  is  not  that  which  is  done  of  set  purpose, 
but  that  which  flows  out  unconsciously  from  the 
teacher's  inner  life  and  character. 

2.  The  moral  atmosphere  of  the  school  room. 
Every  school  room  has  an  atmosphere  of  its  own. 
It  may  be  clear  and  pure,  invigorating  and  life- 
giving;  or  it  may  be  murky  and  foul,  filled  with  ex- 
halations of  moral  poison. 

I  have  come  to  think  of  schools  as  living  organ- 
isms, each  having  its  own  peculiar  temper  or  spirit, 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

somewhat  as  we  speak  of  the  mettle  of  a  horse.  It 
is  said  that  every  locomotive  that  runs  on  the  track 
has  a  temper  of  its  own,  and  that  though  two  loco- 
motives be  made  of  the  same  material  and  of  same 
dimensions,  and  every  way  as  nearly  alike  as  it  is 
possible  for  master- workmen  to  make  them,  they 
will  differ  widely  in  what  may  be  called  temper  or 
mettle.  One  will  be  nervous  and  fiery,  starting  at 
a  touch  of  the  lever,  while  the  other  will  be  power- 
ful but  sluggish,  slow  to  start  and  slow  to  stop. 
To  such  an  extent  is  this  true,  as  I  have  been  told 
by  those  who  have  stood  on  the  foot-board,  that  an 
experienced  engineer  about  to  start  on  a  trip  is  as 
much  concerned  to  know  what  locomotive  he  is  to 
take  out,  as  is  the  coachman  to  know  what  team  he 
is  to  drive. 

The  school  has  something  akin  to  this.  Each 
has  its  own  peculiar  spirit,  or  moral  atmosphere,  so 
to  speak;  and  upon  this  moral  atmosphere  depends  in 
large'  measure  the  results  in  character.  To  be  in  a 
school  whose  atmosphere  is  charged  with  spiritual 
power  is  of  itself  a  good  education. 

Of  course,  the  spirit  or  temper  of  the  school 
comes  largely  from  the  teacher.  It  is  mainly  an 
emanation  from  the  inner  recesses  of  his  soul;  so 
that  if  the  spirit  of  a  school  is  wrong  and  needs  cor- 
recting, the  place  for  the  teacher  to  begin  is  often 
with  his  own  spirit.  When  the  spirit  and  purpose, 
voice  and  manner,  of  a  strong  teacher  are  right, 
they  rapidly  become  all-pervading,  and  constitute 


174 


SCHOOL   GOVERNMENT. 

the  most  powerful  instrumentality  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  school. 

3.  Moral  Sanctions.  Under  this  head  I  include 
(i.)  the  individual  moral  sense — conscience.  In 
appealing  judiciously  to  the  individual  moral  sense 
the  teacher  accomplishes  a  double  purpose:  he  culti- 
vates and  increases  this  power,  while  he  utilizes  for 
present  purposes  what  already  exists.  And  no 
matter  how  dormant  or  how  feeble  this  power,  the 
teacher  should  not  neglect  to  call  it  into  exercise. 
True,  it  is  very  discouraging  work  to  appeal  to  the 
moral  sense  of  pupils  who  seem  to  have  none.  But 
the  feebler  this  power,  the  more  careful  and  per- 
sistent will  the  conscientious  teacher  be  in  calling  it 
into  exercise,  to  the  end  that  it  may  grow.  Pupils 
should  often  be  brought  face  to  face  with  the  right 
and  wrong  in  their  conduct.  Is  it  right  ?  is  always 
a  good  question  for  the  teacher  to  ask  in  dealing 
with  the  conduct  of  pupils. 

(2.)  I  include  also  under  the  head  of  moral 
sanctions  the  public  opinion  of  the  school.  This 
should  always  be  on  the  teacher's  side,  which  of 
course  should  be  the  side  of  right.  The  teacher 
with  the  public  sentiment  of  his  school  against  him 
has  a  hard  lot.  If  this  condition  cannot  be  changed, 
the  relation  should  be  dissolved.  It  sometimes  hap- 
pens that  the  general  moral  sense  of  a  school  has 
been  so  far  perverted  that  the  majority  of  the  pupils 
sympathize  with  wrong  and  wrong  doers.  It  is  a 
very  bad  symptom  in  a  school  when  a  considerable 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

number  of  the  pupils  are  ever  ready  to  manifest 
their  pleasure  at  the  success  of  mischief  and  wrong. 
I  was  once  present  at  an  interview  between  the  lady 
principal  of  a  high  school  and  a  young  man,  one  of 
her  pupils.  The  young  man  said  to  her  very  petu- 
lantly: 'Td  like  to  know  what  you  have  against 
me.  I  hav'nt  been  doing  any  thing. "  The  teacher 
replied:  "I  can  tell  you  very  quickly  what  I  have 
against  you.  You  are  always  on  the  side  of  wrong. 
You  show  that  you  are  pleased  when  any  disorder 
occurs  or  when  anything  wrong  is  done  in  the  school. 
I  want  to  find  you  on  the  other  side. ' '  The  young 
man  stood  convicted;  the  teacher  had  made  her  case. 
4.  Direct  Instruction.  Besides  the  silent  in- 
fluences and  subtile  forces  which  proceed  from  the 
life  and  character  of  the  teacher  and  the  general 
tone  and  spirit  of  the  school,  there  is  some  place  for 
conscious  and  formal  instruction.  The  understand- 
ing must  be  enlightened,  the  feelings  and  sympa- 
thies must  be  enlisted  on  the  side  of  right  and  duty, 
and  the  will  must  be  trained  to  virtuous  choice  and 
action.  This  opens  the  broad  field  of  moral  instruc- 
tion and  training,  into  which  I  cannot  fully  enter 
now.  Suffice  it  to  say  here  that  the  teacher  should 
avoid  sermonizing.  Abstract  moral  lectures  are  as 
a  rule  distasteful  and  irksome  to  young  minds. 
Brief  familiar  talks,  on  suitable  occasion,  with  free 
use  of  concrete  examples  and  illustrations,  beautiful 
bits  of  poetry,  choice  maxims,  and  gems  of  thought 
and  sentiment,  are  among  the  most  effective  means 

176 


SCHOOL   GOVERNMENT. 

of  cultivating  the  sense  of  right  and  duty  in  the 
young,  at  whatever  stage  of  advancement. 

5.  Careful  diagnosis  and  thorough  treatment. 
An  ignorant  and  unskilled  physician  is  called  a 
quack.  His  diagnosis  of  disease  is  very  superficial, 
and  his  treatment  is  generally  aimed  at  the  symp- 
toms and  not  at  the  seat  or  cause  of  the  disease. 
He  deals  largely  in  external  applications,  which 
may  temporarily  mitigate  the  trouble,  but  with  a 
strong  probability  of  its  breaking  out  in  a  worse 
form  in  the  same  or  a  different  place.  He  some- 
times also  administers  opiates,  which  alleviate  the 
pain  without  removing  the  disease. 

But  the  wise  and  skillful  physician  gives  little 
heed  to  mere  symptoms,  except  as  they  point  to  the 
deeper  cause.  He  seeks  out  the  cause  and  labors 
to  remove  it.  He  strives  to  secure  better  action  of 
the  heart,  lungs,  and  liver;  better  digestion  and  as- 
similation of  the  food;  in  short,  a  higher  state  of 
vitality  in  the  system.  He  knows  that  if  these 
things  can  be  secured,  the  symptoms  will  take  care 
of  themselves.  He  knows,  too,  that  opiates  and 
ointments  applied  directly  to  the  symptoms  are  not 
only  for  the  most  part  useless,  but  often  positively 
harmful,  resulting  in  a  lowering  of  vitality. 

Constitutional  treatment  is  best,  in  school  man- 
agement as  well  as  in  the  practice  of  medicine;  yet 
it  is  doubtless  true  that  a  large  part  of  the  discipline 
in  schools  consists  in  dealing  with  mere  surface 
symptoms.  Many  teachers  waste  their  energies 


177 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

and  wear  out  their  lives  in  dealing  with  whispering 
and  other  forms  of  petty  disorder  which  they  never 
succeed  in  permanently  correcting.  Better  and 
more  lasting  results  may  be  secured  by  searching 
out  and  removing  the  causes  of  disorder.  When 
the  spirit  of  the  school  is  right,  when  the  pupils  are 
interested  in  study  and  filled  with  right  purposes 
and  desires,  the  petty  misdemeanors  upon  which  so 
many  teachers  waste  their  efforts,  and  which  are 
usually  but  symptoms  of  a  want  of  right  spirit  and 
purpose,  will  speedily  disappear.  And  more  espe- 
cially the  grosser  forms  of  wrong-doing  among  pupils 
can  be  dealt  with  effectively  only  by  reaching  the 
springs  of  conduct. 

I  was  once  called  upon  by  the  principal  of  one 
of  the  schools  under  my  supervision  for  advice  and 
assistance  in  the  matter  of  profanity  among  the 
boys  of  her  building.  She  had  reason  to  believe 
that  the  practice  was  very  prevalent  among  them, 
and  was  at  a  loss  to  know  how  to  deal  with  it. 

I  have  known  cases  in  which  it  was  publicly  an- 
nounced that  every  boy  caught  swearing  would  be 
whipped  severely;  and  this  might  seem  to  be  a 
simple  and  direct  remedy.  But  it  would  be  worth 
considering  whether  the  boy  who  swears  and  is 
whipped  would  be  likely  to  swear  less  or  more — 
probably  the  latter,  but  with  greater  care  about 
being  caught  at  it. 

In  the  case  mentioned,  at  the  request  of  the 
principal,  I  spent  the  greater  part  of  a  day  in  her 


SCHOOL   GOVERNMENT. 

building,  going  from  room  to  room,  learning  all  I 
could  as  to  the  extent  of  the  evil,  and  doing  all  that 
was  possible  to  remedy  it.  The  method  of  proced- 
ure in  the  different  rooms  varied  somewhat,  accord- 
ing to  the  age  of  the  pupils  and  other  conditions, 
but  in  the  main  it  was  about  as  follows: 

"I  have  come  to  see  you  to-day,"  I  said  to  the 
boys,  '  'on  a  rather  unpleasant  errand.  I  have  heard 
that  a  good  many  of  the  boys  of  this  building  use 
profane  language,  and  I  have  come  to  see  about  it. 
I  have  not  come  expecting  to  punish  anyone,  but  I 
wish  to  persuade  the  boys  who  are  in  the  habit  of 
using  bad  words  to  give  up  the  practice.  I  suppose 
most  of  them  do  it  without  thinking  how  wrong  it 
is  and  how  much  harm  it  does.  It  is  very  wrong, 
does  no  good  to  anyone,  and  does  a  great  deal  of 
harm.  It  is  a  very  useless  practice.  The  Savior 
says  you  cannot  change  the  color  of  a  hair  by 
swearing.  If  I  could,  by  standing  here  and  swear- 
ing great  blistering  oaths,  change  one  of  these  gray 
hairs  to  jet  black,  or  one  of  these  black  ones  to  a  clear 
white,  how  much  good  would  it  do?  How  much 
would  I  gain?  But  I  could  not  even  do  that. 
Swearing  would  not  make  a  white  hair  black  nor  a 
black  one"  white.  No,  swearing  is  a  very  useless 
habit. 

' ' Swearing  is  a  very  degrading  practice.  It  low- 
ers one  in  his  own  eyes  as  well  as  in  the  eyes  of  all 
who  know  him.  When  you  hear  a  company  of  men 
cursing  and  swearing,  do  you  say:  'What  excellent 


179 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

people,  what  refined  gentlemen?'  Do  you  not 
rather  think:  'What  degraded  men,  what  base  fel- 
lows these  are?'  What  would  you  think  to  hear 
your  teacher  swear  ?  or  your  Sunday  school  super- 
intendent, or  the  pastor  of  the  church  you  attend  ? 
No,  good  people  do  not  swear.  It  always  seems  to 
me,  when  I  hear  anyone  swear,  that  he  is  calling 
attention  to  his  own  badness.  It  seems  as  if  he 
said  'L,ook  at  me,  everybody  !  see  how  vile  I  am  ! 
see  what  a  bad  heart  I  have  !  see  how  much  bad- 
ness comes  out  of  my  mouth  !' 

"Besides  all  this,  swearing  is  very  wicked  and 
cannot  go  unpunished.  The  profane  swearer  is 
without  excuse,  seeming  to  defy  God  and  his  law; 
and  when  we  remember  that  God  is  just  and 
punishes  sin,  we  shudder  at  his  daring." 

Having  by  such  words  as  these,  made  the 
strongest  possible  impression  on  the  minds  of  the 
boys,  I  went  on  to  say  further  : 

"I  hope  every  boy  here  who  has  fallen  into  this 
practice  wishes  to  get  out  of  it;  and  the  best  way  to 
start  in  forsaking  a  wrong  course  is  to  make  an 
honest  confession.  I  would  like  to  know  how  many 
do  use  profane  language.  I  shall  not  urge  you  to 
tell  me,  but  if  you  do  so  of  your  own  free  will  I 
shall  be  gratified.  I  shall  not  punish,  nor  even 
chide,  anyone.  You  may  rise.  (All  stand.) 
Those  who  are  willing  that  I  should  know  the 
truth  about  the  matter  may  remain  standing;,  and 
those  who  prefer  not  to  report  concerning  themselves 

1 80 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. 

may  be  seated.  (Not  more  than  two  or  three  boys 
in  the  entire  building  took  their  seats  at  this  test.) 
I  am  pleased  to  find  you  so  frank.  I  hope  no  one 
will  be  tempted  to  make  an  incorrect  report.  Now, 
those  who  never  use  profane  language  may  be 
seated.  (At  this,  a  few,  perhaps  four  or  five  in  a 
room,  took  their  seats.)  All  may  now  be  seated.  I 
am  very  much  pleased  at  the  spirit  you  have  shown. 
I  take  it  as  a  sign  that  you  really  prefer  right  to 
wrong,  and  only  needed  to  have  your  attention 
called  to  the  matter. 

"I  have  one  thing  more  to  ask  of  you,  and  I  feel 
quite  sure  you  will  be  willing  to  grant  it.  I  want  you 
to  set  your  faces  against  this  bad  practice.  If  you 
have  formed  the  habit,  determine  at  once  to  break  it. 
Some  of  you  may  have  to  try  pretty  hard;  but  it 
will  be  easier  now  than  when  you  are  older.  The 
longer  any  habit  grows,  the  stronger  it  becomes.  If 
you  forget  and  fail,  do  not  give  up  but  try  again 
and  again.  By  all  agreeing  together  you  can  be  a 
great  help  to  each  other.  If  some  day  on  the  play- 
ground you  should  hear  a  bad  word  from  John's 
lips,  step  up  to  him,  ky  your  hand  on  his  shoulder, 
and  say  to  him,  kindly,  'Did  you  forget,  John?  you 
promised  not  to  use  bad  words/ 

"Now,  if  you  are  ready,  boys,  we'll  take  a  rising 
vote.  All  who  promise  to  set  themselves  against  all 
bad  language  and  to  use  only  the  language  of  good 
people,  may  stand.  (All  but  one  or  two  rose 
promptly. ) 

181 


T^ACH^R  AND  HIS  WORK. 

"You  have  done  a  good  thing  to-day,  boys. 
Now  stand  by  your  colors.  I  shall  come  again 
soon,  to  see  how  you  get  along. " 

And  the  boys  felt  that  they  had  done  a  good 
thing,  and  were  very  happy  over  it. 

6.  Training  into  right  habits.  It  is  not  enough 
that  the  feelings  and  sympathies  of  pupils  be  occa- 
sionally aroused  and  enlisted  on  the  side  of  right 
and  duty,  nor  that  they  be  consciously  and  form- 
ally instructed  in  right  doing;  they  must  be  con- 
stantly and  persistently  prompted  and  held  up  in 
the  right,  until  the  habit  of  right  doing  is  formed. 
Right  habits  are  the  result  of  training.  No  psychical 
law  is  more  fundamental  in  education  or  of  more 
general  application  than  that  stated  by  Dr.  Reid 
when  he  says  :  "I  conceive  it  to  be  a  part  of  our 
constitution,  that  what  we  have  been  accustomed  to 
do,  we  acquire  not  only  a  facility  but  a  proneness  to 
do  on  like  occasions;  so  that  it  requires  a  particular 
will  or  effort  to  forbear  it,  but  to  do  it  requires  very 
often  no  will  at  all." 

It  is  largely  this  law  of  our  human  nature  that 
makes  education  possible.  And  training  is  far  more 
effective  than  talking.  The  secret  of  successful 
school  management  is  not  in  telling  pupils  what  is 
right  and  chiding  and  scolding  them  for  not  doing 
it,  but  rather  in  the  strong  will,  the  persistent  pur- 
pose of  the  teacher,  that  secures  the  doing  of  the 
right  until  it  becomes  habitual.  If  the  pupils  are 
tardy  and  irregular  in  attendance,  let  the  whole 

182 


SCHOOL   GOVERNMENT. 

weight  of  influence  and  authority  be  brought  to 
bear,  until  promptness  and  regularity  become  a 
habit.  A  little  more  than  twenty-five  years  ago, 
tardiness  was  very  prevalent  in  the  Akron  schools. 
I  remember  that  one  teacher  of  a  grammar  school 
had  a  record  of  more  than  two  hundred  cases  of 
tardiness  in  her  first  month,  and  lost  count  before 
the  month  was  up.  By  judicious  effort  this  condi- 
tion was  completely  changed  in  a  few  months,  and 
by  continuous  training  the  habit  of  promptness  and 
regularity  became  fixed,  and  so  continues  to  this 
day.  Cases  of  tardiness  are  now  rare,  and  some 
schools  run  month  after  month  without  a  single 
case.  In  the  same  way,  bad  habits  of  any  kind  may 
be  overcome  and  good  habits  may  be  established 
instead. 

7.  Incentives.  Motives  are  the  springs  of 
human  will  and  action.  Conduct  is  determined  by 
the  springs  from  which  it  flows.  Psychologists 
have  felt  the  difficulty  of  classifying  motives.  Dr. 
McCosh  says:  "To  endeavor  to  give  a  complete 
and  exhaustive  list  would  be  a  bold  undertaking. 
Such  a  classification  would  at  the  best  be  very  im- 
perfect/' They  have  been  loosely  classed  as  natural 
and  artificial,  as  low  and  high.  There  is  prob- 
ably no  better  general  classification  than  that  given 
by  Dr.  Haven.  He  says:  "As  to  the  nature  of 
the  motives  from  which  we  act,  they  are  manifestly 
of  two  kinds,  and  widely  distinct,  viz. ,  desire  and 
duty — the  agreeable  and  the  right,  each  constituting 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

a  powerful  motive  to  action.  We  find  ourselves 
under  the  influence  of  these  motives,  acting,  now 
from  desire,  now  from  sense  of  duty,  now  in  view 
of  what  is  in  itself  agreeable,  and  now  in  view  of 
what  is  right,  and  the  various  motives  which  in- 
fluence us  and  result  in  action,  may  be  resolved  into 
one  or  other  of  these  powerful  elements. " 

These  two  are  often  antagonistic — a  law  in  the 
members  warring  against  the  law  of  the  mind.  "It 
is  only  when  desire  and  duty  coincide  that  the 
highest  happiness  can  be  reached,  when  we  no 
longer  desire  and  long  for,  because  we  no  longer 
view  as  agreeable  that  which  is  not  strictly  right — 
a  state  never  fully  realized  in  this  life."  It  is  just 
here  that  the  subject  of  incentives  comes  into  the 
domain  of  the  school  and  the  teacher.  The  incent- 
ives to  which  the  teacher  appeals  and  which  he 
makes  effective,  determine  the  measure  of  results  in 
character  which  he  secures.  It  is  the  duty,  and  it 
should  be  the  aim  and  purpose  of  the  teacher  to  di- 
rect all  his  effort  and  bring  to  bear  all  the  weight 
of  his  influence  and  authority,  to  the  end  that  his  pu- 
pils shall  more  and  more  bring  desire  into  subjection 
and  make  duty  the  controlling  motive  in  their  lives. 

The  subject  is  one  of  transcendent  interest  and 
importance,  but  I  can  not  pursue  it  further  here. 
For  a  fuller  and  better  discussion  of  the  whole  sub- 
ject of  school  incentives  the  reader  is  referred  to  Dr. 
White's  Elements  of  Pedagogy,  p.  320,  and  to  his 
later  work,  School  Management :,  p.  130. 

184 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. 

8.  Self -reporting .  To  this  many  teachers  object. 
They  not  only  deny  its  value  as  an  agency  for  good, 
but  condemn  it  as  positively  harmful.  One  writer 
condemns  the  practice  because  of  the  in  justice  likely 
to  be  done.  Conscientious  pupils  will  report  faith- 
fully, while  the  evil-disposed  will  report  untruth- 
fully and  receive  greater  credit  than  those  more  de- 
serving. Another  objection  is  stated  in  these 
words  ;  "It  trains  the  children  to  be  liars.  Feeling 
that  those  who  report  the  fewest  faults  are  they 
who  will  receive  the  best  marks  and  reports,  irre- 
spective of  conduct,  it  is  a  short  step,  for  even  an 
honest  pupil,  from  truth  to  falsehood;  and  even 
those  who  have  always  been  accounted  truthful 
have  such  temptations  placed  before  them  that,  with 
the  weakness  incident  to  the  moral  nature  of  child- 
hood, they  in  many  cases  become  untruthful/' 

All  this  seems  to  take  a  good  deal  for  granted. 
An  ignorant  blunderer  may  do  a  great  deal  of  mis- 
chief with  the  finest  and  sharpest  of  tools.  It  will 
not  be  denied  that  harm  is  likely  to  come  from 
stupid  and  clumsy  handling  of  self -reporting  in 
schools.  But  it  need  not  be  assumed  that  a  pupil's 
reports  to  his  teacher  must  necessarily  be  made  the 
basis  for  "credits,"  "marks  and  reports,"  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  place  him  under  strong  temptation 
to  lie. 

The  careless  and  indiscriminate  use  of  self- 
reporting  is  to  be  condemned;  but  that  school  is  in  a 
very  deplorable  state  in  which  there  is  not  place  for 

185 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

some  kind  and  some  measure  of  self-reporting.  I 
have  seen  schools  in  which  it  was  the  custom  for 
the  teacher  at  the  close  of  the  day  to  call  the  roll 
publicly,  and  each  pupil  was  expected  to  report  his 
misdemeanors  for  the  day,  while  the  teacher  stood 
as  a  recording  angel  to  write  them  in  a  book.  I 
can  conceive  of  conditions  under  which  even  this 
would  be  better  than  the  surveillance  and  espionage 
prevalent  in  some  schools;  but  neither  is  to  be  com- 
mended. There  is  a  better  way. 

I  have  seen  a  teacher,  at  the  close  of  the  day, 
seated  at  her  desk  with  pencil  in  hand,  as  the  pu- 
pils filed  by  on  leaving  the  room,  and  anyone  who 
had  anything  to  report  whispered  it  for  none  but  the 
teacher's  ear.  With  right  relations  existing  be- 
tween teacher  and  pupils,  a  plan  like  this  may  be 
used  with  good  effect. 

The  best  system  of  general  self-reporting  I  have 
ever  seen  in  operation,  was  in  a  large  high  school. 
The  school  occupied  a  large  assembly  room  with 
recitation  rooms  attached.  The  principal  (a  lady), 
at  her  own  cost,  supplied  each  pupil  with  a  small 
pass-book,  costing  but  a  penny  or  two,  in  which  to 
keep  a  daily  record  of  deportment.  The  books 
were  suitably  ruled  and  the  pupils  received  definite 
instructions  as  to  the  manner  of  keeping  the  record. 
The  books  were  taken  up  and  inspected  weekly.  I 
sat  at  the  desk  with  the  principal  one  Saturday 
while  she  "went  through"  these  books.  In  one 
she  wrote,  "Well  done,  James;  your  record  is 

186 


SCHOOIy  GOVERNMENT. 

good."  In  another,  "I  am  pleased  with  the  effort 
you  are  making,  Mary."  In  another,  "Try  to  be 
strong,  Henry;  do  not  give  way  to  temptation." 
One  book  she  put  aside,  saying,  "I  must  see  that 
boy;  I  fear  that  he  has  not  reported  correctly." 

It  is  easy  to  see  what  a  power  a  faithful  and 
strong  teacher  may  wield  by  such  an  instrument- 
ality. But  it  is  perhaps  fair  to  say  that  self- 
reporting  is  a  sharp  two-edged  sword  which  requires 
skillful  handling.  There  seem  to  be  two  necessary 
conditions  of  success  in  the  use  of  this  measure. 
The  first  is  a  high  moral  sense  in  the  teacher,  and 
the  second  is  a  reasonably  healthy  moral  tone  in  the 
school.  If  the  first  is  wanting,  results  in  character 
will  be  meager,  whatever  instrumentalities  may  be 
employed.  If  the  second  only  is  lacking,  it  be- 
hooves the  teacher  to  bend  every  effort  toward 
awakening  a  higher  sense  of  honor  among  the 
pupils. 

Whatever  policy  may  be  deemed  expedient 
or  wise  concerning  general  and  formal  self-re- 
porting in  school,  frank  individual  confession 
of  faults  ought  to  be  encouraged  and  secured. 
And  it  is  possible  to  secure  the  confidence  and 
esteem  of  pupils  to  such  an  extent  that  it  be- 
comes comparatively  easy  to  get  from  them  a 
direct  and  truthful  account  of  many  things  con- 
cerning which  they  might  otherwise  be  disposed 
to  prevaricate  or  falsify.  The  confidence  must  be 
mutual.  Confidence  begets  confidence.  The  boys 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

at  Rugby  said,  "It's  a  shame  to  tell  Arnold  a  lie, 
he  trusts  a  fellow  so;"  and  Rugby  boys  were  like 
other  boys.  The  teacher  who  trusts  his  pupils, 
even  at  the  risk  of  being  sometimes  imposed  upon, 
will  win  their  confidence  and  strengthen  their  moral 
nature. 

The  principal  of  a  large  city  school  found  it 
necessary  to  prohibit  ball  playing  on  the  school 
grounds.  He  explained  that,  because  of  the  large 
number  of  boys  on  the  small  play-ground,  there 
were  many  complaints  of  injury  to  the  smaller  boys, 
and  he  expressly  prohibited  even  the  throwing  of  a 
ball  on  the  grounds.  Not  many  days  after,  at  re- 
cess, he  heard  the  rattling  of  broken  glass,  and  on 
going  into  the  basement  he  found  a  ball  which  had 
evidently  just  been  thrown  through  a  basement 
window.  When  his  own  school  (the  upper  depart- 
ment, containing  150  pupils)  assembled,  the  prin- 
cipal inquired,  "A  light  of  glass  broken  at  recess, 
was  there  not,  boys?  "  "Yes,  sir,"  several  voices 
responded.  "Well,"  said  the  principal,  "I  do  not 
wish  to  hear  about  it  from  anyone  but  the  boy  who 
did  it.  If  the  boy  that  threw  the  ball  is  in  this 
room,  he  may  raise  his  hand."  There  was  a  mo- 
ment of  suspense,  and  a  craning  of  necks  all  over 
the  room  to  see  whose  hand,  if  any,  would  come  up. 
Soon  a  hand  was  raised,  and  with  it  came  a  manly 
voice,  "I  did  it,  sir."  "Thank  you,  Jesse,"  said 
the  principal;  "you  may  explain  to  me  after  the 
close  of  school.  That  is  all  now."  After  school 


188 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. 

Jesse  explained  that  he  had  the  ball  in  his  pocket 
and  threw  it  at  another  boy  without  thinking  of  the 
order  against  ball-playing,  and  added,  "I  won't  do 
it  any  more."  The  principal  commended  him  for 
his  frankness  and  reminded  him  of  the  rule  requiring 
payment  for  damage  to  property.  "Yes,  sir,"  he 
said,  "I'll  bring  it  in  the  morning. " 

The  effect  on  a  school  of  one  incident  like  this 
is  more  valuable  and  more  lasting  than  a  score  of 
moral  lectures.  Of  course  just  such  incidents  as 
this  are  not  of  frequent  occurrence  without  a  healthy 
moral  sentiment  in  the  school  and  mutual  confi- 
dence between  teacher  and  pupils.  What  I  wish  to 
emphasize  is  that  it  is  possible  to  secure  such  a  state 
of  sentiment  in  a  school,  such  a  sense  of  honor,  that 
a  large  majority  of  the  pupils  will  frankly  and 
truthfully  report  their  own  misdemeanors.  And 
how  desirable  such  a  condition  is  !  How  it  lightens 
the  labor  of  government,  and  how  much  more 
agreeable  and  satisfactory  the  relations  between 
teacher  and  pupils!  It  is  the  ideal  toward  which 
the  noblest  and  best  teachers  have  ever  striven.  It 
was  Arnold's  way  of  governing  boys,  and  Garfield's, 
and  Horace  Mann's.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  two 
such  men  as  Horace  Mann  and  President  Garfield 
have  made  strong  appeals  to  teachers  in  favor 
of  greater  confidence  and  more  cordial  co-opera- 
tion between  teacher  and  pupils.  There  ap- 
peared, some  years  ago,  in  the  published  proceed- 
ings of  the  Ohio  Teachers'  Association,  a  report 

189 


TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

submitted  by  Mr.  Garfield,  in  which  strong  ground 
was  taken  in  favor  of  self-reporting.  Among  the 
advantages  of  the  plan  were  urged  the  following  : 

1.  "By   manifesting  confidence  in  students,  it 
begets  the  same  in  return,  and  thus  forms  a  basis 
on  which  a  school  can  be  more  easily  and  pleasantly 
controlled. 

2.  *  'It  relieves  the  teacher  in  the  main  from  that 
disagreeable  system  of  espionage  which  is  frequently 
unsuccessful,  and  by  many  is  regarded  dishonorable. 

3.  "It  is  better  in  its  personal  effects  upon  the 
character  of  both  pupils  and  teacher;  by  calling  into 
exercise  a  nobler  principle  of  human  nature,  and  a 
more  delicate  sense  of  honor. ' J 

About  the  same  time,  Horace  Mann,  by  appoint- 
ment of  the  Ohio  College  Association,  prepared  an 
address  to  Ohio  college  faculties,  in  which  were 
set  forth  in  strong  light  the  evils  of  distrust  and 
antagonism  between  teachers  and  students,  and  the 
great  value  of  mutual  confidence,  trust,  and  co- 
operation. The  chief  weight  of  his  argument  was 
directed  against  the  false  "code  of  honor, M  so  gen- 
erally in  force  among  students,  which  binds  them 
to  screen  one  another  in  wrong-doing.  Now  a  mo- 
ment's reflectien  is  sufficient  to  satisfy  anyone  that 
this  "code"  among  pupils  is  to  a  large  extent  the 
result  of  their  teachsrs'  attitude  and  bearing  toward 
them.  When  teachers  are  in  full  sympathy  with 
their  pupils,  repose  confidence  in  them,  duly  regard 
their  rights  and  feelings,  and  treat  them  with 


190 


SCHOOIy 

openness  and  kindness,  the  "code"  soon  loses  its 
hold,  and  confidence  and  co-operation  take  the 
place  of  suspicion  and  antagonism. 

This  view  does  not  imply  any  laxness  of  disci- 
pline or  any  yielding  of  the  teacher's  prerogative. 
It  implies,  rather,  more  ready  obedience  and  better 
discipline,  with  less  of  friction  and  more  of  good 
feeling  and  good  will.  There  must  be  obedience, 
and  where  it  is  not  rendered  voluntarily  and  cheer- 
fully, it  must  be  secured  by  constraint.  And  the 
stronger  the  teacher  to  exact  and  enforce  obedience, 
when  necessary,  the  sooner  will  the  need  of  con- 
straint cease. 

Nor  does  the  reign  of  confidence  and  good  will 
imply  that  the  teacher  is  to  be  altogether  blind  to 
pupils'  faults,  or  easily  deceived  or  imposed  upon; 
but  rather  the  opposite.  While  sympathizing  and 
kind,  he  should  be  a  terror  to  evil  doers.  He  should 
be  sharper  than  the  sharpest  boy.  He  should  be 
thoroughly  familiar  with  boys'  tricks.  He  should 
readily  discriminate  between  well-meant  playfulness 
or  the  bubbling  over  of  animal  life,  and  mean 
trickery.  Skillful  and  thorough  treatment  of  mean- 
ness or  wrong-doing  favors  rather  than  hinders  the 
growth  of  the  right  spirit  in  a  school. 

The  principal  of  the  city  school  before  mentioned 
had  at  another  time  a  school  in  which  the  sense  of 
honor  was  not  very  highly  developed.  One  day  at 
recess,  as  he  was  ringing  a  large  hand-bell  at  the 
window  to  call  in  the  pupils,  the  clapper  of  the  bell 


191 


THK  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

fell  out  among  the  boys  on  the  play  ground.  He 
looked  out,  but  saw  only  a  sea  of  upturned  faces. 
When  the  boys  came  in  and  were  seated,  he  in- 
quired, '  'Boys,  did  any  of  you  see  the  bell-clapper?' ' 
There  was  no  response;  nobody  knew  anything  at 
all.  And  no  device  or  power  of  persuasion  could 
elicit  any  information.  After  the  order  was  given 
to  take  books  and  proceed  with  study,  the  principal 
went  into  the  lowest  primary  room,  and,  being  on 
good  terms  with  the  little  people,  he  asked,  "Little 
boys,  did  any  of  you  see  the  bell-clapper?"  "Yes, 
sir;  yes,  sir;"  shouted  a  chorus  of  voices.  "Eli 
Jennings,  a  big  boy  up  in  your  room,  picked  it  up 
and  put  it  in  his  pocket. ' '  On  returning  to  his  own 
room,  the  principal  took  his  watch  in  his  hand  and 
said  with  a  good  deal  of  emphasis,  "The  boy  who 
has  that  bell-clapper  will  place  it  on  my  desk  inside 
of  two  minutes,  or  there  will  be  serious  trouble  for 
him."  Eli,  who  sat  in  a  front  seat,  grew  very  red 
and  began  to  move  nervously  in  his  seat;  but  before 
the  time  had  more  than  half  expired,  he  rose  in  the 
presence  of  the  whole  school  of  a  hundred  pupils, 
stepped  forward,  and  placed  the  clapper  on  the  prin- 
cipal's desk.  The  effect  upon  the  school,  as  well  as 
upon  Eli,  was  salutary. 

Having  considered  at  some  length  the  more  im- 
portant moral  instrumentalities  of  school  govern- 
ment, I  now  propose  to  close  this  paper  with  some 
observations  on  what  may  be  called  the  external  or 
mechanical  agencies.  There  is  doubtless  something 


192 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. 

of  the  moral  element  in  every  right  means  of  gov- 
ernment; but  in  some  more  than  others  the  external 
and  mechanical  seem  to  predominate. 

Government  is  more  than  persuasion,  more  than 
personal  influence;  it  is  at  bottom  coercion.  Force 
sufficient  to  overcome  resistance  is  the  very  essence 
of  government.  Authority  and  power  must  go 
together.  A  government  not  obeyed  is  no  govern- 
ment. 

Some  things  already  named  as  conditions  favor- 
able to  good  government  might  be  mentioned 
among  the  external  agencies;  as, 

1.  Proper   seating.      When    the    teacher    has 
placed  each  pupil  in  a  comfortable  seat  and  in  best 
relations   to  his  fellow-pupils  and  to  all  the  sur- 
roundings, he  has  at  least  made  a  good  start  in  the 
matter  of  control. 

2 .  Proper  employment.     Each  pupil  should  have 
enough  and  not  too  much  to  do,  and  there  should 
be  a  judicious  alternation  of  study  and  recitation. 

3.  Proper  ventilation  and  heating.      Fresh  air 
and  a  suitable  degree  of  temperature  in  a  school 
room  will  sometimes  drive  out  the  demons  of  dis- 
order more  effectually  than  birch  branches  or  hazel 
sprouts. 

These  and  other  similar  agencies  may  be  classed 
as  preventives,  and  preventives  which  prevent  are 
valuable;  it  has  been  said  that  an  ounce  of  preven- 
tion is  worth  a  pound  of  cure.  But  the  whole  store 
of  preventives  will  not  always  suffice  to  obviate  the 


193 


T^ACHKR  AND  HIS  WORK. 

necessity  for  curative  or  corrective  agencies.  The  sick 
need  a  physician;  and  the  remedies  of  best  physicians 
are  often  disagreeable — even  painful  in  the  extreme. 

Punishment  is  a  necessity  of  government  in  the 
family  and  in  society,  and  in  the  school  likewise. 
The  right  of  the  teacher  of  youth  to  administer 
punishment  is  universally  recognized,  though  there 
is  diversity  of  sentiment  as  to  kind  and  degree,  and 
it  is  one  of  the  most  important  and  difficult  of  the 
teacher's  duties.  One  writer  says:  "The  amount 
and  kind  of  punishment  administered  at  school 
is  one  of  the  best  tests  of  a  teacher's  capacity 
and  fitness  for  the  station  he  occupies.  No  sub- 
ject connected  with  school  management  is  more  deli- 
cate, none  more  important,  and  none  requires  more 
judgment,  discretion,  or  wisdom.  As  a  general 
rule,  the  best  teachers  are  those  who  punish  least; 
and  the  wisest,  those  who  make  the  best  choice  when 
punishment  must  be  inflicted.  Whatever  savors 
of  ill  temper  or  brutality,  whatever  tends  to  the  in- 
jury of  the  body,  mind,  or  sensibilities  of  the  child, 
is  to  be  unsparingly  condemned. ' ' 

Punishments  in  school  as  well  as  in  the  family 
and  in  society  have  in  too  great  measure  been  ad- 
ministered without  reason,  in  mere  caprice  or  pas- 
sion, defeating  the  true  ends  of  punishment.  When 
to  punish,  what  punishment  to  inflict  in  a  given 
case,  and  how  to  puriish,  are  questions  of  great  im- 
portance, requiring  mature  judgment  and  good 
heart  on  the  part  of  parents  and  teachers. 


194 


SCHOOL 


The  following  principles  laid  down  by  Bentham 
have  some  value  for  general  guidance: 

1.  The  punishment  should  exceed  the  apparent 
advantage    derived    from    the    commission   of    the 
offense. 

2.  The  greater  the  offense,  the  greater  should 
be  the  pains  taken  to  secure  its  punishment. 

3.  Punishment  should  never  be  greater  than  is 
needed  to  prevent  a  repetition  of  the  offense. 

4.  Regard  should  be  paid  to  the  sensibility  of 
the   offender,   as   dependent   on   age,   sex,   health, 
social  position,  etc. 

5.  Punishments  should  be  increased  in  magni- 
tude as  the  detection  of  the  offense  is  uncertain  or 
remote. 

6.  When  the  offense  is  not  an  isolated  act,  but 
an  act  indicating  the  existence  of  a  habit,  the  pun- 
ishment should  outweigh  the  apparent  advantages, 
not  merely  of  the  act,  but  of  the  habit. 

To  these  may  be  added  — 

Due  regard  should  always  be  had  to  the  motive 
and  spirit  of  the  wrong-doer.  The  same  outward 
act  does  not  always  require  the  same  kind  and  de- 
gree of  punishment.  Teachers  should  discriminate 
sharply  between  wilful  disobedience  and  mere  child- 
ish thoughtlessness. 

Not  every  wrong  act  requires  punishment. 
Sometimes  instruction,  encouragement,  and  sympa- 
thy are  more  effective  antidotes  to  misconduct  than 
punishment. 


195 


TKACH3R  AND  HIS  WORK. 

The  chief  ends  of  school  punishment  are — 

1.  Reformation.    In  the  state,  punishments  are 
retributive.     In  the  family  and  the  school  they  are 
mainly  corrective.     Children  are  punished  for  their 
faults.     The  good  of  the  wrong-doer  is  the  para- 
mount   consideration.     Hence  school   and    family 
punishments  should  contain  no  element  of  vindic- 
tiveness. 

2.  Warning.     The  knowledge  that  punishment 
is  likely  to  follow  wrong-doing  has  a  restraining  in- 
fluence.    In  this  way  punishment  is  preventive  as 
well  as  corrective.     The  wise  and  efficient  ruler  is  a 
terror  to  evil-doers  as  well  as  a  praise  to  them  that 
do  well. 

3.  Condemnation   of  wrong-doing.     The    right 
must  be  approved,  the  seal  of  condemnation  placed 
on  wrong.     Virtue  must  be  exalted,  vice  condemned 
and  made  odious. 

Some  characteristics  of  judicious  punishment 
may  be  mentioned. 

i.  Punishment  should  be  administered  with  de- 
liberation. Anything  like  haste  or  passion  is  out  of 
place  and  is  liable  to  defeat  the  end  in  view. 
Teacher  and  pupil  should  both  have  time  for  reflec- 
tion. The  pupil  may  come  to  a  better  mind  and  the 
punishment  may  be  averted,  or  at  any  rate  less 
severity  may  be  necessary.  School  punishment  of 
any  kind  imposed  with  calmness  and  deliberation  is 
always  more  efficacious  and  less  likely  to  embitter 
the  pupil. 

196 


SCHOOL   GOVERNMENT. 

The  necessity  may  occasionally  arise  for  deal- 
ing swiftly  and  summarily  with  the  offender,  but 
the  rule  is  the  other  way. 

2.  Punishment  should  be  certain ,  or  at  least  not 
capricious.     The  certainty  of  even  light  punishment 
is  a  more  effective  preventive  of  offenses  than  capri- 
cious severity.      It  does  not  follow  that  there  is  no 
place  in  school  administration  for  mercy  and  for- 
giveness; but  that  with  an  even  hand  and  a  steady 
rein  every  case  is  to  be  dealt  with  on  its  merit  and 
not  according  to  the  mood  or  caprice  of  the  teacher. 

3.  Punishment  should  be  adapted  in  kind  and  de- 
gree to  the  conditions  and  circumstances  of  the  case.    It 
should  be  consequential   as  far  as  may  be.     The 
discipline  of  consequences  is  best  where  it  is  practic- 
able.    It  is  this  that  Rousseau  and  Herbert  Spencer 
dwell  upon  with  so  much  emphasis.     And  concern- 
ing the  same,   Mr.  Fitch,  an  experienced  English 
school  inspector,  points  out  that  when  a  child  sees 
that  his  punishment  is  the  direct  consequence  of  his 
fault,  he  cannot  rebel  as  he  might  otherwise.   "You 
eliminate  altogether  the  feeling  of  personal  resent- 
ment and  the  sense  of  injustice  if  you  make  the 
punishment  thus,  whenever  possible,  obviously  ap- 
propriate to  the  fault  and  logically  its  sequel.     The 
principle  once  seen,    covers   a   good   many  school 
offenses.      The  obvious  punishment  for  late  coming 
is  late  going;  for  doing  an  exercise  ill  is  to  do  it 
again  well;  for  injury  to  the  property  of  others, 
restitution  at  one's  own  cost/'  etc.      But  Fitch  and 


197 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

Compayre  both  point  out  very  clearly  the  imprac- 
ticability of  depending  solely  on  natural  conse- 
quences for  the  correction  of  the  faults  of  children. 
Fitch  says:  "Experience  proves  to  us  that  it  is 
wholly  inadequate  as  a  theory  of  moral  government, 
either  for  a  school  or  a  state/'  And  Compayre : 
"There  is  nothing  more  brutal,  more  inhuman,  than 
the  system  which,  suppressing  all  human  interven- 
tion of  the  teacher  in  the  correction  of  the  child, 
leaves  to  nature  alone  the  task  of  chastising  him. 
.  .  .  The  system  of  natural  consequences  sup- 
presses moral  ideas — the  idea  of  moral  obligation 
and  duty." 

It  is  pre-eminently  the  duty  of  parents  and 
teachers  to  interpose,  in  behalf  of  childhood,  such 
milder  though  more  arbitrary  punishments  as  tend 
to  avert  the  cruel  and  relentless  penalties  which 
nature  provides  for  wrong-doing.  To  this  they  are 
called,  and  when  they  withhold  needed  chastise- 
ment and  indulge  the  evil-doer,  their  guilt  is  great. 

He  is  the  true  teacher  who  by  every  suitable 
means  corrects  his  pupils'  faults  and  saves  them 
from  wrong-doing  and  its  inevitable  consequences, 
and  often  the  best  he  can  do  is  to  substitute  arbi- 
trarily his  own  lighter  penalties  for  the  far  more 
painful  natural  results  of  imprudent  conduct. 

Of  the  modes  of  punishment  I  shall  speak  but 
briefly.  Reproof,  privation,  seclusion,  demerits, 
withdrawal  of  all  signs  of  esteem  and  confidence, 
and  temporary  suspension,  kindly  and  firmly  ad- 

198 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT. 

ministered,  will  usually  fulfill  the  more  important 
conditions  of  effective  punishment. 

Expulsion  and  the  rod  are  for  flagrant  offenses 
and  obstinate  cases.  The  former  is  in  the  power  of 
the  board  of  education  only. 

Concerning  the  use  of  the  rod  in  schools,  much 
has  been  said  on  both  sides.  Arguments  against  its 
use  have  been,  for  the  most  part,  founded  upon  its 
abuse  rather  than  its  legitimate  and  judicious  use. 
It  is  certainly  better  a  school  should  be  controlled 
by  the  use  of  the  rod  than  that  it  should  go  un- 
controlled. '  'The  rod  and  reproof  give  wisdom, ' ' 
says  Solomon.  There  seems  to  be  designedly  a 
close  connection  between  the  corporeal  sensibilities 
and  those  that  are  mental  and  moral.  "The  intel- 
lect, the  sensibility,  and  the  will  are  all  more  or  less 
affected  by  any  suffering  that  may  be  inflicted  upon 
the  nervous  sensibility,  and  if,  when  inflicted,  there 
is  a  clear  apprehension  on  the  part  of  the  sufferer  as 
to  its  intent,  and  if  it  be  administered  in  proper 
spirit  and  in  proper  quantity,  it  follows  that,  unless 
the  subject  of  such  punishment  is  beyond  the  reach 
of  reformation,  this  means  may  and  will  reclaim 
him." 

Nevertheless,  it  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
best  teachers  rarely  resort  to  the  use  of  the  rod,— 
some  of  them  never.  The  right  attitude  of  the 
teacher  is  to  maintain  the  right  to  use  the  rod,  but 
avoid  the  use.  Mr.  Fitch  tells  of  one  of  the  best 
day  schools  he  ever  examined,  in  which  the  disci- 


199 


THE  TKACH^R  AND  HIS  WORK. 

pline  was  singularly  high-toned,  manly,  and  cheer- 
ful, without  one  case  of  corporal  punishment  in  its 
whole  history.  Yet  the  master  begged  the  inspec- 
tor to  make  no  mention  of  the  fact  in  reporting  on 
the  school.  "I  do  not  mean  to  use  it,"  the  master 
said,  "but  I  do  not  want  it  to  be  in  the  power  of 
the  public  or  the  parents  to  say  I  am  precluded 
from  using  it.  Every  boy  here  knows  that  it  is 
within  my  discretion,  and  that  if  a  very  grave  or 
exceptional  fault  occurred  I  might  use  that  discre- 
tion." 

Good  Dr.  Arnold,  of  Rugby,  is  quoted  as  saying: 
"The  proud  notion  of  independence  and  dignity 
which  revolts  at  the  idea  of  personal  chastisement 
is  not  reasonable  and  is  certainly  not  Christian.  It  is 
the  sin  that  degrades  and  not  the  punishment  of  it. " 

Horace  Mann  maintained  that  the  rod  could  not 
be  entirely  banished  from  the  school-room  until  a 
sufficient  number  of  angels  have  been  imported  from 
heaven  to  supply  all  the  schools  with  teachers;  and 
he  might  have  added — a  sufficient  number  of  little 
angels  to  supply  all  the  schools  with  pupils.  But 
Horace  Mann  is  also  quoted  as  saying:  "Corporal 
punishment  should  never  be  inflicted  but  in  cases  of 
extremest  necessity." 

Well  would  it  be  if  all  teachers  who  find  occa- 
sion to  use  the  rod  at  all  would  use  it  so  discreetly 
that  legislatures  and  school  boards  would  find  no 
occasion  to  limit  their  prerogative  or  narrow  their 
discretion  in  the  matter  by  any  formal  enactment. 


200 


SCHOOL   GOVERNMENT. 

I  find  fitting  close  to  this  chapter  in  the  words  of 
Mr.  Fitch: 

"The  great  triumph  of  school  discipline  is  to  do 
without  punishments  altogether.  And  to  this  end 
it  is  essential  that  we  should  watch  those  forms  of 
offense  which  occur  oftenest,  and  see  if,  by  some 
better  arrangements  of  our  own,  temptation  to 
wrong  may  be  diminished  and  offences  prevented. 
If  your  government  is  felt  to  be  based  on  high  prin- 
ciples, to  be  vigilant  and  entirely  just,  to  be  strict 
without  being  severe,  to  have  no  element  of  caprice 
or  fitfulness  in  it;  if  the  public  opinion  of  the  school 
is  so  formed  that  a  scholar  is  unpopular  who  does 
wrong,  you  will  find  not  only  that  all  the  more  de- 
grading forms  of  personal  chastisement  are  unnec- 
essary, but  that  the  need  of  punishment  in  any  form 
will  steadily  disappear.'' 


201 


The  Moral  and  Religious  Element 
in  Education. 


* '  One  religion  after  another  perishes,  but  the  religious 
sense  which  creates  them  all  never  dies." 


VIII. 

THE  MORAI,  AND  RELIGIOUS 
IN  EDUCATION. 

IT  has  been  sometimes  asserted  by  men  claiming  to 
speak  with  authority  in  such  matters  that  the 
chief  end  of  education  is  to  fit  men  for  getting  on  in 
the  world — to  train  men  for  their  particular  occupa- 
tions. It  may  be  freely  admitted  that  every  man 
should  be  fitted  for  some  honorable  and  useful  oc- 
cupation and  should  pursue  it  persistently,  but  as  a 
means  rather  than  an  end.  A  man's  life  is  more 
than  meat  and  drink.  The  necessity  laid  upon  men 
to  labor  for  food,  clothing,  and  shelter,  is  itself  a 
valuable  part  of  their  moral  discipline;  but  there  is 
a  spirit  in  man  whose  cravings  can  never  be  satis- 
fied by  the  bread  he  earns. 

That  training  is  best  for  a  man  which  is  best 
calculated  to  develop  all  his  capabilities.  The  par- 
ticular sphere  in  life  which  anyone  is  to  occupy  can- 
not be  determined  beforehand,  and  it  would  seem 
very  unwise  to  spend  years  in  shaping  and  fitting  a 
human  soul  for  a  niche  it  may  never  occupy.  Far 
better  would  it  seem  to  seek  the  perfection  of  our 
human  nature  in  every  direction  and  in  all  its  capa- 
bilities. If  to  the  highest  physical  development  and 
the  best  scientific,  literary,  and  aesthetic  culture  we 


205 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

add  supreme  regard  for  God — an  acknowledgment 
of  His  sovereignty  and  a  practical  recognition  of  our 
relations  to  Him  as  His  children,  we  probably  have 
the  highest  human  conception  of  the  perfection  of 
our  nature.  Human  perfection  is  not  a  fixed 
quantity,  but  rather  an  infinite  progression.  It  con- 
sists in  forever  growing. 

But  in  the  light  of  such  an  ideal,  how  very  in- 
adequate is  our  school  education.  It  is  partial, 
one-sided,  incomplete.  It  cultivates  the  lower  fac- 
ulties, leaving  the  higher  and  nobler  powers  to  the 
blight  and  decay  of  inactivity,  or  to  such  chance 
development  as  other  and  less  systematic  agencies 
may  afford.  The  schools  do  much  in  the  way  of 
intellectual  development,  and  the  results  attained  in 
this  direction  are  not  to  be  disparaged;  but  they 
fail  in  great  measure  to  recognize  the  fact  that  the 
human  soul  is  endowed  with  other  and  higher  facul- 
ties equally  susceptible  of  cultivation  and  growth. 
The  schools  do  much  for  the  head,  but  far  too  little 
for  the  heart. 

The  great  educational  want  of  our  day  is  heart 
culture,  and  the  great  desideratum  in  the  teachers 
who  are  to  bless  coming  generations  is  heart  power. 
Momentous  changes  are  taking  place  in  the  world. 
The  human  family  seems  to  be  in  a  transition  state. 
The  old  foundations  are  breaking  up;  the  old  land- 
marks are  being  removed.  Men  are  no  longer  con- 
tent with  the  creeds  and  dogmas  to  which  they  have 
been  wont  to  trust.  It  is  a  time  which  tries  men. 


206 


THE)  MORAI,  AND  RKUGIOUS 

It  is  a  time  when  they  feel  the  need  of  something 
better  than  creed  and  ritual.  Men  realize  more  and 
more  the  need  of  a  power  of  vision  which  will  en- 
able them  to  see  other  than  material  things,  an  un- 
derstanding which  will  enable  them  to  apprehend 
higher  thoughts  than  the  subtleties  of  human 
philosophy.  There  is  higher  knowledge  than  sense- 
knowledge.  There  are  truths  which  deeply  con- 
cern us  which  never  can  be  reached  by  scientific 
method.  The  highest  development  of  mere  intel- 
lect can  never  attain  to  a  knowledge  of  the  highest 
truths.  "He  that  loveth  not,  knoweth  not  God,  for 
God  is  love. ' '  The  power  to  apprehend  spiritual 
truth  proceeds  from  the  heart.  "With  the  heart 
man  believeth  unto  righteousness/1  The  divine 
educator  of  our  race  begins  and  ends  with  the  heart 
as  that  which  determines  the  character.  A  man  is 
what  his  heart  is.  The  heart  gives  tone  and  temper 
to  the  whole  being.  It  is  the  fountain  whence  the 
streams  of  life  issue;  and  the  stream  cannot  be 
good  unless  the  fountain  be  pure.  Any  system  of 
education  which  neglects  the  cultivation  of  the 
heart  seeks  to  purify  the  stream  without  any  regard 
to  the  fountain. 

There  is  in  every  man  a  native  power  of  spiritual 
apprehension  which  is  subject  to  the  general  law  of 
human  development.  It  may,  by  proper  stimula- 
tion and  exercise,  be  made  to  live  and  grow  strong; 
or  it  may  be  dwarfed  and  enfeebled  by  neglect  and 
disuse,  until  there  is  no  consciousness  of  the  posses- 


207 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

sion  of  any  such  power.  And  furthermore,  all  our 
faculties  are  so  closely  related  that  all  suffer  from 
the  neglect  of  any.  The  highest  intellectual  culture 
is  never  reached  where  the  cultivation  of  the  heart 
is  wholly  neglected.  A  French  writer  has  said  that 
the  continual  operation  of  the  intellect  without  the 
presence  of  God  dries  up  and  exhausts  the  soul. 

Moral  and  intellectual  development  should  be 
carried  on  simultaneously.  Each  is  the  complement 
of  the  other.  To  separate  them  is  to  defeat  the 
object  of  both.  But  were  it  possible  to  separate 
them,  and  to  give  precedence  to  either,  moral  cul- 
ture has  the  first  claim.  '  'The  moral  and  religious 
part  of  man's  nature  is  the  highest  part.  Of  right 
it  has  sovereignty  and  dominion  over  all  the  rest. 
The  whole  scheme  of  creation,  at  least  so  far  as  it 
relates  to  man,  was  based  on  the  supremacy  of  the 
moral  faculties. ' '  Civilization  is  but  the  ascendency 
of  the  moral  and  religious  element  of  human  nature 
in  the  aggregate. 

It  is  hard  to  account  for  the  aversion  of  men  to 
the  cultivation  of  their  higher  faculties.  Vast  multi- 
tudes seem  to  live  only  in  their  lower  nature.  Bun- 
yan's  man  with  the  muck-rake  aptly  illustrates  the 
tendency  of  men  to  follow  their  lower  animal  in- 
stincts rather  than  their  higher  spiritual  intuitions. 
This  man  is  represented  as  shut  up  in  a  dingy  room 
with  a  muck-rake  in  his  hand.  He  looked  no  way 
but  downward,  while  a  shining  one  was  above  him 
with  a  beautiful  crown  of  gold  in  his  hand,  which 

208 


MORAI,  AND  RELIGIOUS 

he  offered  him  in  exchange  for  his  muck-rake.  But 
the  man  refused  to  look  up  and  continued  raking  to 
himself  the  straws,  little  sticks,  and  dust  which  lay 
on  the  floor  of  his  room. 

The  higher  and  better  the  culture  proposed,  the 
more  determined  and  violent  the  opposition  of  men 
who  live  only  in  their  lower  nature.  The  man  who 
said,  "Makin'  them  thar  picters  don't  do  my  boy 
no  good/'  doubtless  believed  he  had  settled  at  a 
stroke  and  forever  the  whole  question  of  drawing 
as  a  branch  of  education.  He  is  but  a  type  of  a 
very  large  class,  for  whom  aesthetic  culture  has  no 
attraction,  and  to  whom  moral  and  religious  instruc- 
tion is  absolutely  repugnant.  For  want  of  early  culti- 
vation, their  higher  faculties  lie  dormant.  They 
are  no  more  capable  of  apprehending  the  things  of 
the  spirit  than  the  deaf  man  of  recognizing  sound, 
or  the  blind  man  of  distinguishing  color. 

An  unwarranted  distinction  is  sometimes  made 
between  morality  and  religion.  Morality  is  religion 
in  practice.  Morality  without  religion  is  a  form 
without  the  substance.  Any  system  of  education 
which  ignores  all  moral  training  would  scarcely 
find  an  advocate  in  this  or  any  other  enlightened 
land.  All  are  agreed  that  the  instruction  in  the 
schools  should  tend  to  the  formation  of  upright 
character  in  the  pupils;  but  at  the  mention  of  re- 
ligion, which  is  the  only  foundation  of  all  good 
morals,  opposition  is  at  once  aroused.  There  must 
be  no  religious  instruction  in  schools  supported  by 


209 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

the  state.  This  false  sentiment  has,  doubtless, 
in  great  measure,  grown  out  of  the  practice  of  con- 
founding religion  with  sect,  and  dogma,  and  theo- 
logical systems.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  dissensions,  intolerance,  and  bitterness,  which 
have  in  the  past  attended  theological  disputation, 
are  not  chargeable  to  religion,  but  to  the  want  of  it. 
Much  of  the  opposition  to  moral  and  religious  in- 
struction in  schools  which  now  exists  is  directly 
chargeable  to  the  churchmen.  When  they  lay 
down  their  weapons  of  warfare,  and  when  earnest 
effort  to  lead  men  in  the  way  of  pure  and  noble  liv- 
ing takes  the  place  of  theological  disputation,  we 
may  expect  much  of  this  opposition  to  disappear. 
The  great  progress  made  in  this  direction  in  recent 
years  gives  hope  for  the  future. 

Religion  is  defined  by  Dr.  Watts  as  "duty  to 
God  and  our  neighbor,"  and  by  Worcester  as  "an 
acknowledgment  of  God  as  our  Creator,  with  a  feel- 
ing of  reverence  and  love,  and  consequent  duty  and 
obedience  to  Him;  duty  to  God  and  His  creatures." 
And  this  is  the  sum  of  all  morality.  There  is  not  a 
moral  maxim  nor  an  ethical  principle  deemed  valu- 
able by  civilized  and  enlightened  men  which  is  not 
included  in  the  Christian  religion.  The  great  cen- 
tral fact  of  Christianity  is  Christ  giving  Himself  to 
help  men  into  the  way  of  right  living.  True  re- 
ligion is  the  voice  of  God  speaking  to  the  hearts  of 
men,  calling  them  to  Himself,  that  they  may  be 
like  Him.  And  may  not  the  youth  in  our  schools 


210 


MORAL  AND  REUGIOUS 


be  taught  to  recognize  that  voice  and  heed  its  warn- 
ings and  invitations  ?  Horace  Mann  has,  well  said  : 

"The  domain  of  education  extends  over  the 
three-fold  nature  of  man;  over  his  body,  training  it 
by  the  systematic  and  intelligent  observance  of 
those  benign  laws  which  secure  health,  impart 
strength,  and  prolong  life;  over  his  intellect,  invig- 
orating the  mind,  replenishing  it  with  knowledge, 
and  cultivating  all  those  tastes  which  are  allied  to 
virtue;  and  over  his  moral  and  religious  suscepti- 
bilities also,  dethroning  selfishness,  enthroning  con- 
science, leading  the  affections  outward  in  good  will 
toward  men,  and  upward  in  gratitude  and  reverence 
to  God." 

The  happiness  of  individuals,  and  the  purity, 
prosperity,  and  permanence  of  society,  imperatively 
demand  the  cultivation  of  all  those  susceptibilities 
of  our  nature  whose  proper  development  tends  to 
range  the  will  on  the  side  of  God  and  right.  There 
is  no  safety,  either  to  the  individual  or  to  society, 
in  any  other  course.  Are  we  not  already  reaping 
the  fruit  of  our  false  views  and  neglect  in  this  mat- 
ter, in  the  low  state  of  public  morals,  the  corruption 
of  the  public  conscience,  the  betrayal  of  public  trust, 
and  the  general  disregard  of  moral  obligation,  which 
seem  at  times  to  threaten  the  very  foundations  of 
society?  The  Prussian  maxim,  '  '  What  you  would 
have  appear  in  the  life  of  the  nation,  you  must  put- 
into  its  schools//  is  sound  and  wise.  If  we  are  to 
enjoy  the  blessedness  of  the  "  nation  whose  God 


211 


TEACHKR  AND  HIS  WORK. 

is  the  I^ord,"  we  must  teach  the  fear  of  God  in  our 
schools. 

It  has  been  urged  that  there  is  diversity  of 
opinion  among  men  in  matters  of  religion,  and  that 
on  this  account  religious  instruction  should  have  no 
place  in  public  schools.  There  are  wide  differences 
of  opinion  among  men  on  scientific  subjects.  Shall 
science  on  that  account  be  excluded  from  the 
schools  ?  There  are  also  differences  of  opinion  in 
regard  to  the  administration  of  government — even 
in  regard  to  the  principles  on  which  govern- 
ment is  founded.  Shall  we,  on  that  account,  for- 
bear to  administer  government  ?  Because  a  teacher 
belongs  to  one  political  party  or  another,  must  he 
be  restrained  from  instructing  his  pupils  in  the  prin- 
ciples of  good  government  ?  A  sense  of  propriety 
should  restrain  teachers  from  all  partisan  and  sec- 
tarian instruction  and  influence;  but  the  principles 
and  practice  of  pure  religion  and  good  citizenship 
should  be  emphasized  and  enforced.  The  young 
people  should  be  taught  and  required  to  render  unto 
Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  unto  God 
the  things  that  are  God's.  A  Chicago  school  report 
contains  this  sound  and  wise  sentiment:  "Secta- 
rianism and  partisanship  have  no  place  appropriate 
for  them  in  any  institution  under  government  sup- 
port or  control;  but  for  patriotism  and  pure  religion 
an  appropriate  place  is  found  in  every  institution 
controlled  and  supported  by  government." 

But  it  is  maintained  that  religious  instruction 


212 


THK  MORAI,  AND  RELIGIOUS 

cannot  be  given  in  public  schools  without  interfering 
with  the  rights  of  private  conscience.  The  very 
first  right  of  conscience,  and  that  upon  which  lib- 
erty of  conscience  depends,  is  the  right  to  be  en- 
lightened. It  is  strange,  indeed,  that  to  instruct 
and  enlighten  the  conscience,  and  teach  men  to 
obey  its  dictates,  should  be  deemed  a  violation  of 
the  rights  of  conscience.  But  admitting  that  there 
may  be  involved  some  things  contrary  to  the  blunted 
conscience  of  some  individuals,  does  that  settle  the 
question  ?  Would  not  the  exclusion  of  all  religious 
instruction  and  training  from  the  school  be  a  far 
greater  violation  of  the  rights  of  conscience  ?  I^et 
us  look  at  the  bearing  of  this  question  in  some  other 
directions.  Do  we,  as  a  rule,  permit  private  con- 
science to  interfere  with  public  good  ?  For  exam- 
ple, do  we  feel  bound  to  respect  the  Mormon  con- 
science ?  Did  we  respect  the  slaveholder's  con- 
science in  1 86 1  ?  Must  we  deny  to  the  government 
the  right  of  self-preservation  because  some  of  its 
citizens  are  conscientiously  opposed  to  bearing  arms 
in  its  defense  ?  Much  less  should  we  deny  the  State 
the  right  of  self-preservation  by  securing  the  integ- 
rity as  well  as  the  intelligence  of  her  citizens. 

It  is  also  maintained  that  religious  instruction 
belongs  to  the  family  and  the  church,  and  not  to 
the  school.  To  this  it  is  a  sufficient  answer,  that  a 
large  number  of  youth  would  be  left  without  any 
moral  or  religious  training;  and  if  it  is  incumbent 
on  the  State  to  undertake  any  part  of  the  work  of 


213 


TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

instruction,  there  is  none  so  essential  to  her  welfare 
as  that  which  secures  uprightness  and  purity  in  the 
lives  of  her  citizens.  Vast  multitudes  of  children 
are  reared  in  godless  homes,  scarcely  a  tithe  of 
whom  ever  come  under  the  influence  of  church  or 
Sunday  school;  and  of  those  who  do  attend  Sunday 
school  with  more  or  less  regularity,  not  all,  by  any 
means,  can  be  said  to  receive  effective  moral  and 
religious  training.  I  am  constrained  to  say  that 
the  influence  of  many  Sunday  schools,  on  account 
of  their  low  standard  of  discipline,  and  the  low 
order  of  teaching  talent  employed,  are  far  less  effi- 
cient in  producing  good  moral  character  than 
the  thorough  discipline  and  instruction  of  the 
public  school,  even  where  no  direct  moral  in- 
struction is  given.  I  believe  the  tendency  in 
many  Sunday  schools  is  to  both  moral  and  intel- 
lectual dissipation.  Not  all  Sunday  schools  deserve 
this  censure;  but  in  a  majority  of  them  there  is  need 
of  a  much  higher  standard  of  instruction  and  disci- 
pline. The  Sunday  school  ought  to  have  a  higher 
mission  than  the  entertainment  or  amusement  of 
the  children. 

The  public  school  is  the  only  place  where  moral 
and  religious  training  and  influence  can  be  brought 
to  bear  on  a  majority  of  those  whose  homes  are  de- 
void of  them;  and  no  other  agency  is  capable  of 
producing  such  definite  results  in  this  direction. 
Not  even  the  Christian  ministry  is  above  the  teach- 
ing profession  in  the  variety,  adaptation,  and  power 


214 


MORAI,  AND  RELIGIOUS 

of  its  appliances,  and  in  the  immediateness  and  pro- 
ductiveness of  the  results  which  may  be  gained  by 
their  use.  The  minister  teaches  at  intervals,  while 
the  teacher's  work  goes  on  from  day  to  day.  The 
preacher  can  point  to  the  right  path,  but  he  cannot 
make  his  hearers  walk  in  it.  He  cannot  constrain 
the  will,  and  bind  it  firmly  to  duty;  nor  can  he  ex- 
ercise the  power  of  personal  authority  and  discipline, 
or  stamp  his  own  entire  individuality,  with  all  the 
weight  of  his  varied  knowledge  and  force  of  char- 
acter, upon  his  people,  as  can  the  true  teacher  upon 
his  pupils.  He  labors  to  impress  those  whose  habits 
are  fixed,  and  whose  sensibilities  are  blunted.  The 
teacher  operates  upon  the  impressible  minds  and 
hearts  of  youth,  whose  souls  are  all  aglow,  and 
whose  hearts  are  plastic  under  the  gentlest  touches 
of  his  hand,  and  tenderly  responsive  to  all  his 
thoughts  and  feelings.  Oh  that  the  teachers 
of  our  land  felt  the  weight  of  responsibility 
which  rests  upon  them  !  What  trusts  are  com- 
mitted to  them  !  and  what  opportunities  they  have 
for  good  ! 

I  am  not  unaware  that  there  are  difficulties 
in  the  way.  I  admit  the  seeming  force  of  some  of 
the  objections  urged  against  religious  instruction  in 
schools  supported  and  controlled  by  the  state;  and 
I  freely  confess  my  inability  to  comprehend,  in  all 
their  bearings,  the  complicated  social  and  political 
problems  which  the  question  involves,  yet  it  seems 
to  me  that  the  obligation  is  laid  upon  us,  and  we 


215 


THE  TEACHER  AMD  HIS  WORK. 

dare  not  shrink  from  the  duty  because  of  the  diffi- 
culties. The  true  solution  of  the  problem  can  be 
found  only  by  going  forward  in  the  accomplishment 
of  the  work.  One  consideration  of  great  weight  in 
my  mind  is  the  fact  that  all  the  difficulties  attending 
the  question  have  their  origin  in  human  imper- 
fection, or,  to  use  a  stronger  term,  in  human  per- 
verseness.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  if  the 
human  family  were  in  its  normal  condition  there 
would  be  doubt  in  the  minds  of  any  about  the  pro- 
priety of  teaching  all  the  children  in  the  schools  to 
fear  God  and  keep  His  commandments.  The  true 
course  for  teachers  to  pursue  is  to  press  forward 
steadily  and  carefully,  gaining  wisdom  and  skill  by 
experience,  and  trusting  to  the  Great  Teacher  of 
mankind  to  direct  the  issue.  There  is  much  need 
for  the  exercise  of  prudence.  "The  servant  of  the 
I^ord  must  not  strive,  but  be  gentle  unto  all  men, 
apt  to  teach,  patient;  in  meekness  instructing  them 
that  oppose  themselves." 

We  must  of  necessity  recognize  the  direct  agency 
of  an  unseen  but  efficient  power,  coming  to  us  from 
above,  to  work  in  and  renew  the  forces  of  our 
humanity.  But  this  does  not  diminish  aught  of 
human  responsibility.  The  cultivator  of  the  soil 
recognizes  the  fact  that  sunshine  and  rain  are  es- 
sential to  vegetable  growth,  but  he  is,  on  that  ac- 
count, no  less  assiduous  in  his  efforts  so  to  prepare 
the  soil  that  the  sun  and  rain  may  operate  under  the 
most  favorable  conditions;  nor  is  he  any  the  less 

216 


MORAL  AND  RKUGIOUS 

vigilant  in  preventing  the  growth  of  noxious  weeds 
which  hinder  the  growth  he  seeks  to  foster. 

There  is  a  prevalent  impression  that  the  best 
moral  instruction  is  that  which  is  least  formal,  that 
which  may  be  imparted  in  connection  with  other 
subjects  of  instruction,  or  which  may  be  given  inci- 
dentally, without  the  setting  apart  of  time  for  the 
purpose.  It  is  doubtless  true  that  much  valuable 
instruction  may  be  imparted  in  this  way.  The 
teacher  who  is  filled  with  an  ardent  desire  to  do  his 
whole  duty  in  this  matter  can  find  many  occasions 
for  impressing  the  minds  of  his  pupils  with  valuable 
moral  lessons.  But  experience  shows  that,  amid 
the  multiplicity  of  subjects  requiring  the  teacher's 
time  and  attention,  no  fitting  place  is  likely  to  be 
found  for  a  subject  to  which  no  definite  place  is  as- 
signed. This  is  doubtless  one  of  the  reasons  for 
the  neglect  of  moral  and  religious  instruction  in 
most  schools.  No  one  would  expect  the  success  of 
an  attempt  to  teach  grammar  or  arithmetic  in  this 
casual  or  incidental  way.  Not  only  should  this 
work  have  its  own  appropriate  time,  but  it  should 
be  carried  on  after  a  carefully  devised  plan. 

First  in  order  and  importance  among  the  things 
to  be  taught,  and  requiring  constant  inculcation,  is 
the  fear  of  God.  "The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  be- 
ginning of  wisdom. "  Jacob's  favorite  son,  one  of 
the  purest  and  strongest  characters  in  history,  gave 
the  key  to  his  life  when  he  said,  "I  fear  God." 
The  fear  of  God  includes  in  it  reverence  and  love 


217 


THE  TKACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

for  God  as  our  father,  a  recognition  of  His  authority 
over  us,  and  the  obligation  resting  upon  us  of  obedi- 
ence and  submission  to  Him.  No  other  power  is 
so  efficient  in  the  right  development  of  moral  char- 
acter as  a  vivid  conception  of  God's  active  presence, 
and  conscious  intelligent  interest  in  human  affairs. 
The  thought  of  God's  personal  presence  and  our  ac- 
countability to  Him  should  be  kept  constantly  be- 
fore the  minds  of  the  young.  "Thou  God  seest 
me,"  and  "Every  one  of  us  shall  give  account  of 
himself  to  God,"  are  appropriate  mottoes  for  every 
school  room. 

Horace  Greeley  never  uttered  profounder  truth 
than  when  he  said  in  an  educational  address,  "The 
true  idea  of  God  clearly  unfolded  within  us,  moving 
us  to  adore  and  obey  Him,  and  to  aspire  after  like- 
ness to  Him,  produces  the  highest  and  best  growth 
of  our  nature.  Nothing  else  so  thoroughly  awakens 
the  moral  sense  within  us,  and  leads  to  the  corn- 
complete  enthronement  of  conscience  over  the 
lower  desires,  appetites  and  passions. ' ' 

The  moral  sense  may  be  awakened  very  early. 
The  chief  danger  arises  from  its  neglect  until  selfish 
desires  and  base  passions  have  grown  strong.  If 
from  childhood  men  were  taught  to  follow  the  first 
intimations  of  conscience,  and  honestly  to  obey 
them  and  carry  them  out  in  action,  the  power  of 
conscience  would  grow  so  strong  as  to  become  the 
controlling  principle  of  the  life. 

But  if  conscience  is  to  be  enthroned  it  must  be 


218 


THE  MORAI,  AND  RELIGIOUS  KLKMKNT. 

enlightened.  An  unenlightened  conscience  is  a 
blind  guide.  All  our  youth  should  be  instructed  in 
the  principles  of  Christian  ethics.  They  should  be 
taught  to  know  the  right  and  inclined  and  con- 
strained to  do  it.  For  purposes  of  instruction  there 
is  no  other  instrumentality  which  can  compare  with 
the  teachings  of  the  Bible.  It  is  the  best  text-book 
of  morals.  It  has  been  provided  by  an  authority 
higher  and  wiser  than  boards  of  education  or  state 
legislatures.  Man's  creator  is  its  author.  He  knew 
the  tendencies  and  capabilities  of  human  powers  as 
no  man  can  know  them,  and  He  has  given  in  this 
book  the  instruction  best  adapted  to  produce  the 
purest  and  strongest  character. 

"How  pure,  how  perfect  are  Jehovah's  laws, 
From  them  the  soul  its  best  instruction  draws; 
Truth,  virtue,  love,  and  wisdom  they  impart, 
Light  to  the  eyes  and  rapture  to  the  heart. 
Bright  is  the  gloomy  cavern's  jeweled  oar, 
Sweet  is  the  roving  bee's  collected  store; 
But  what  can  nature,  what  can  art  bestow, 
Like  the  pure  words  that  from  Jehovah  flow?  " 

There  should  be  no  enforced  use  of  the  Bible  in 
schools,  under  present  conditions,  nor  should  its  use 
be  prohibited  by  either  state  or  local  enactment.  It 
should  be  left,  as  its  author  has  left  it,  entirely  free. 
The  perfunctory  reading  of  the  Bible  in  school,  by 
a  teacher  who  does  not  acknowledge  its  authority 
and  love  its  precepts,  will  have  little  influence  for 
good,  if  its  effect  be  not  positively  pernicious. 
More  important  than  the  Bible  in  school,  is  its 


219 


THE  TKACH^R  AND  HIS  WORK. 

spirit  in  the  heart  of  the  teacher.  He  may  impress, 
directly  and  indirectly,  the  thought  of  the  being  and 
love  of  God,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  obligations 
arising  from  our  relations  to  Him  and  to  each  other; 
and  the  pupils  may  receive,  as  an  emanation  from 
the  teacher's  inner  life  and  character,  an  elevated 
religious  spirit.  Yet,  in  communities  where  no  se- 
rious opposition  exists,  the  daily  use  of  the  Bible  is 
desirable;  and  my  experience  and  observation  lead 
me  to  conclude  that  the  earnest  and  judicious 
teacher  will  rarely  meet  with  any  interference. 

The  general  atmosphere  of  the  school  and  the 
personal  influence  of  the  teacher  may  be  powerful 
instruments  of  moral  culture.  The  degree  of  faith- 
fulness and  efficiency  with  which  school  duties  are 
performed,  determines  in  a  great  measure  the 
moral  tone  of  the  school.  The  standard  which  the 
teacher  fixes  for  himself;  and  the  standard  he  re- 
quires of  his  pupils  in  the  accomplishment  of  the 
work  of  the  school,  go  very  far  toward  fixing  the 
pupil's  moral  standard  for  life.  The  pupil  who  has 
been  punctual  and  regular  in  his  attendance  at 
school,  and  prompt  and  thorough  in  the  prepara- 
tion and  recitation  of  all  his  lessons  for  the  ten  or 
twelve  years  of  his  school  life,  will  rarely  fail  to  be- 
come an  efficient  and  reliable  man  or  woman. 

The  discipline  of  the  school  may  be  so  exercised 
as  to  beget  in  the  pupils  the  power  of  self-control, 
regard  for  the  rights  and  feelings  of  others,  and 
hatred  of  deception  and  every  form  of  wrong.  In 


220 


MORAI.  AND  REXIGIOUS 

the  exercise  of  discipline,  the  teacher  should  keep 
constantly  before  his  mind  the  highest  good  of  his 
pupils.  With  teachers  of  weak  moral  character,  the 
first  question  generally  is,  How  will  this  or  that 
measure  affect  myself?  What  will  people  think? 
or  how  will  it  affect  my  reputation  ?  But  with  the 
true  teacher,  the  great  question  is,  How  will  it 
affect  the  character  and  life  of  my  pupils  ? 

The  motives  to  which  the  teacher  is  accustomed 
to  appeal  will  have  great  influence  on  the  character 
of  his  pupils.  If  the  motives  are  low  and  selfish, 
the  moral  nature  will  be  debased.  The  incentives 
set  before  the  young  should  be  such  as  tend  to 
quicken  the  conscience  and  to  develop  and  strengthen 
the  moral  nature.  There  is  probably  no  other  topic 
more  fundamental  and  vital  in  education  than  this. 
It  demands  the  most  thoughtful  consideration  of 
parents  as  well  as  teachers.  And  in  connection 
with  this  the  inner  life  and  character  of  the  teacher 
is  of  supreme  importance.  It  has  been  said  in  re- 
gard to  painting  that  "the  characteristic  traits  of 
the  artist,  despite  his  efforts  to  the  contrary,  find 
their  expression  on  the  canvas."  The  masterpieces 
of  Rembrandt  have  been  pronounced  coarse  and 
gross,  while  those  of  his  contemporary,  Vandyke, 
are  invariably  spoken  of  as  the  embodiment  of 
purity  and  refinement.  These  individualities  are 
noticeable  in  their  portraits  of  the  same  persons. 
The  teacher  is  an  artist,  who,  all  unconsciously,  it 
may  be,  is  constantly  transferring  to  his  pupils  the 


221 


TH&  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK. 

lineaments  of  his  own  soul.  Every  teacher  exerts 
on  the  moral  nature  of  his  pupils  an  influence  either 
good  or  bad.  A  silent,  unconscious  influence  goes 
out  from  his  inner  life  and  character,  which  cannot 
be  measured.  Some  people  have  been  so  deeply 
impressed  with  the  thought  of  the  great  power  of 
the  teacher's  influence,  as  to  conclude  that  all  the 
moral  and  religious  influence  of  the  school  which  is 
of  any  worth,  must  come  from  the  teacher's  char- 
acter and  life;  and  that  there  is  no  need  of  direct 
and  formal  instruction.  The  fact  must  not  be  over- 
looked that  the  inculcation  of  right  moral  principles 
vitalizes  and  increases  the  teacher's  moral  influence. 
Precept  and  example  are  the  complement  of  each 
other.  The  Great  Teacher  exerted  a  power  of  per- 
sonal influence  unequaled  by  any  other  teacher  of 
our  race.  Yet  He  taught,  from  day  to  day  and 
from  house  to  house,  the  principles  of  pure  morality 
and  religion,  as  well  as  the  practical  duties  of  every- 
day life. 

The  subject  is  one  of  transcendent  interest  and 
importance.  The  gravest  responsibility  that  now 
rests  upon  the  teachers  of  this  country  is  the  right 
moral  training  of  the  youth  of  the  land.  Upon  this 
depends  the  prosperity  and  permanence  of  our  free 
institutions. 


X?* 

/  OF  THE 

8    UNIVERSITY 
V  of 

Nssfe 


222 


Home  and  School 


A  MONTHLY  MAGAZINE 

devoted  to  education  in  schools 
of  every  grade  and  in  the  home. 


"Home  and  School  costs  only  one  dollar  a  year, 
but  it  will  do  any  teacher  more  than  a  hundred  dol- 
lar's worth  of  good  in  that  time."— fronton  Register. 


"  One  of  the  best  papers,  both  for  parent 

and  teacher,  of  which  I  have  any  knowledge.  " 

—  Indiana  Superintendent. 


ONE  DOLLAR  A  YEAR. 


Edited  and  published  by 

SAMUEL  FINDLEY, 

AKRON,  OHIO. 


UNIVERSITY  OP  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


si 


7  190 


30m-l,'15 


KKl^/ 


04698 


